


Katsuki Yuuri, Unintentional Heartthrob

by confusedthundercloud



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Character's Name Spelled as Viktor, Declarations Of Love, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Implied Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov, M/M, Not Neccessarily Out Loud, Pining Victor Nikiforov, Slow Burn, The Official Katsuki Yuuri Fan Club, Yuuri Has Protective Fans, there are some OCs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-06-15
Packaged: 2018-10-13 18:11:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 32,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10519104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/confusedthundercloud/pseuds/confusedthundercloud
Summary: No-one in their right mind would fall in love with Katsuki Yuuri. At least that’s what he thinks. The core members of the Official Katsuki Yuuri Fan ClubTMwould beg to differ. They would also like to humbly remind Viktor Nikiforov that he is still on his probationary period and his membership will be revoked if he does not get his shit together.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Because no-one can tell me that Yuuri did not have people falling in love with him left, right and center.
> 
> This is my first foray into YoI fanfic (and the first non-academic thing I have written in ages) and all of my ballet/skating-related knowledge comes from google so constructive criticism is definitely welcome! :)
> 
> Betaed by the lovely [WarriorNun ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/WarriorNun/pseuds/WarriorNun) :)  
> 

#### 1\. Okino Tomoe: President of the Offcial Katsuki Yuuri Fan ClubTM (Asian Division)

 

They meet in ballet class first.

Well, meet might be a bit of an exaggeration, but they are both in class and she knows his name. He is not one for talking, but being the only boy in a small class, no matter what he does, it is remembered. She expects him to be annoying and rude first, like the other boys she knows, disrupting the class and yanking on girls’ hair. She is pleasantly surprised when he turns out to be quiet and dedicated.

Even during warm-up, his movements are fluid and graceful and when they gossip about him in the changing rooms later, no-one can believe how good he is for a beginner. Then Minako-sensei instructs them to form a line in front of the mirror and get into first position. Tomoe stands at the end of the line but as there is still plenty of space on her left she is not surprised when Katsuki-kun decides to stand quietly next to her. He is new after all; it makes sense that he doesn’t want to be in the middle where everyone can see if you make a mistake.

Minako-sensei starts calling out positions. Katsuki-kun starts to move and Tomoe is impressed. His movements are elegant and there is none of the initial shyness that she saw while they were warming up. He seems to be completely focused on Minako-sensei’s instructions as if the rest of the room have ceased to exist. Tomoe is so busy staring that she overbalances her _arabesque_ , nearly falling on her face.

The commotion seems to break Katsuki-kun’s concentration because he also stumbles, blushing furiously. Minako-sensei glances at the two red-faced students at the end of the row and she makes them switch to the middle to ensure that they can see the others’ pose for reference. Tomoe has nothing against being in the middle but Katsuki-kun goes all uncomfortably stiff and the grace disappears from his movements. He is still unbelievably good for a beginner but it has nothing on the level of technicality he showed before. Tomoe is disappointed but she decides that it must have been a fluke and leaves it at that.

Weeks pass, Katsuki-kun becomes a mundane addition to the ballet class. He is still shy but he tells them all to call him Yuuri which is a step towards friendship so they are hopeful that he will come out of his shell eventually. It is still the most successful relationship any of them has with a boy of their age so they don’t mind waiting for him to get used to them. Then one day Tomoe forgets her water bottle in the studio.

It’s one of those fancier bottles that has a special compartment for fruit so that one can drink fruit-infused water without all the fruit-bits getting in the way so she is understandably quite attached to it. Luckily they all know that Minako-sensei tends to stay in the studio long after the classes are over so she decides to head back to check if she is still there. When she gets to the studio, the lights are on and there is soft music drifting through the open windows. Tomoe doesn’t want to disturb her teacher so she keeps quiet and lets herself in, quietly moving towards the changing rooms.

She finds her bottle easily and is about to leave quietly when the music changes. Replacing the previous unassuming piano piece are the first strands of Odette’s Solo and Tomoe just can’t stop herself from sneaking a peek. After all, this was one of the most famous pieces Minako-sensei has ever performed and if any of the others mentioned that they had an opportunity to watch their teacher and they chose to walk away instead, she would be the first to lay into them. She inches closer to the door and after making sure that her presence would not be noticed, glances inside.

Up until this point, Tomoe’s world has been quite neatly ordered, everything fitting into useful pre-labelled little boxes that had no space for surprises. Shouta-kun in school, who keeps flinging balls of paper at her? Just an annoying bully, nothing more. Kimiko-chan, her next-door neighbour who must take extra classes because her English is so terrible no-one can understand a word she is saying? She will probably stay in Japan forever, never to set foot in a foreign country. And Yuuri-kun who is quiet and shy, and who has still not recovered from his punishment of having to dance in the middle of the row? He is…

He is flying across the floor as the perfect Odette, light and graceful on his feet, arms positioned just so, feet beautifully _en pointe_ , every movement enchanting. He is still the chubby boy who squints a lot during practice because his glasses get in the way but contacts bother his eyes so he can’t wear any. He is also a vision of movement, his _sissonne_ s are perfect. He slightly overbalances on an _arabesque_ , but even with the mistake his performance is arresting and Tomoe feels like she can’t breathe until he stops in the finishing pose, back gracefully curved like the swan.

“Well done, Yuuri, that was much better than the previous try!” praises Minako-sensei and when Yuuri-kun smiles his whole face lights up, brightening the whole room.

And Tomoe… Tomoe is in love.

She leaves the studio a changed person. She also feels a bit better about her skills because clearly Yuuri-kun knew ballet before coming to dance with them, none of them has ever seen him dance _en pointe_! This answers so much of their confusion regarding his impressive skills for a beginner.

 

* * *

 

The thing is, once Tomoe knows about Yuuri-kun’s prowess in ballet (and gods help her, his _smile_ ), it is very hard to ignore him even when he is doing his utmost best to blend into the décor of the studio. And the studio décor is mostly a large sign of Minako-sensei’s name so he has his work cut out for him. Of course, none of the other girls are particularly unobservant so everyone notices that she is staring at Yuuri-kun as if he just declared himself to be a foreign prince, offered her a unicorn as well as her own ballet theatre where she can be the prima.

And as they are also brilliant when it comes to strategizing, they send Yumi-chan to interrogate her while the rest stares soulfully from a short distance. Yumi-chan is the most angelic-looking of the group, soft wispy hair and long lashes, just like a porcelain doll come to life. She is also awfully good at staring at you until you feel like her stare bares your soul and all your secrets. It is to this particular Stare that Tomoe breaks, but on her defence this tactic broke people nearly twice their age so it’s quite remarkable she didn’t fold the moment those eyes turned beseeching.

No-one believes her, obviously.

They all like Yuuri-kun, of course they do, he is polite and kind if a little quiet and he is the only boy in their environment who not only does not make faces when the topic of ballet comes into conversation but is also willing to talk about different stretching exercises without trying to make any weird jokes. But for him to be amazing enough that Tomoe, who has boys in school chasing after her begging for a date, would go all blushing and dreamy when talking about his spins and his posture and his smile – Yuuri-kun smiles?! –, that seems ridiculous.

Tomoe dares them to go to the studio after class.

They do not see another rendition of the Swan Lake. This time, Yuuri-kun is back to dancing to a simple piano piece, however, the lack of grandeur does not affect the quality of his dance. Ayumi-chan nearly betrays their hiding place when she starts whisper-screeching about Yuuri-kun’s _brisé volé_ s and how graceful he is and oh dear gods how is he this good. Minako-sensei seems satisfied with his progress and the group is treated to The SmileTM before Yuuri-kun switches to a fast-paced jazzy piece, feet flying, arms curved, body moving perfectly in sync with the music.

Once they collect their jaws from the floor and apologise to Tomoe for doubting her they all head home with the promise of discussing what they saw the next day. When they see each other again before ballet practice, it seems like they have all gotten to the same resolution independently of each other: they must protect Yuuri-kun at any cost.

Are they all crushing on Yuuri-kun? Of course they are, they are all thirteen and just got presented with a beautiful package of amazing ballet skills and a smile that could blind the sun in the form of a boy. Even those who will later realise that boys might not be their (only) cup of tea are ensnared by the idea of dating someone like that. Their idea of love is quite pure at this point so their crush shows mostly in admiration of Yuuri-kun’s skills and The SmileTM. And this is where it ends because they also _know_ Yuuri-kun by now and they know that if they did anything to express this admiration, he would close himself off entirely and might even stop coming to class and what would they do then?!

So clearly, they need to protect his secret. But at the same time, none of them can forget what they saw and they need an outlet for their excited screeching about their classmate that is not too creepy. Tomoe is the one to present them with a solution and the Official Katsuki Yuuri Fan ClubTM is born with her as its elected President.

At first they only use the meetings to set up a schedule for practice viewings as all of them showing up is very difficult to hide. Then Ruka-chan brings her father’s camera. She is named Media Officer and the Saturday Viewings at her house are added to the Official Katsuki Yuuri Fan ClubTM’s schedule.

They try to encourage him in practice but they don’t take it to their hearts if (when) he shies away. His presence (and the videos) are more than enough encouragement for them. The Saturday Viewings often end up in impromptu practice sessions, the four of them trying to copy their idol without destroying any of Ruka-chan’s furniture.

They even leave him chocolate for St. Valentine’s day, anonymously of course. Funnily enough, they never fight amongst each other. None of them try to ask Yuuri-kun out, they respect his shy personality too much to potentially upset him. They remain friendly and supportive, kind if a bit distant and he seems to be happy in their company. However, the gods help anyone who tries to hurt Yuuri-kun.

 

* * *

 

Ruka-chan is the first one to notice how some of Yuuri-kun’s classmates seem to be sneering at him every time they see him. They start to pay attention to them more when Yuuri-kun grows even quieter during practice, sad eyes hidden behind his fringe. It doesn’t take a genius to guess that the sneering and the sadness are correlated. Coming up with a lesson for the boys during the first Emergency Meeting of the Official Katsuki Yuuri Fan ClubTM is even easier.

Yuuko-senpai – who is two years their senior and goes to the same school as Ayumi-chan and Tomoe – finds them lobbing balloons filled with paint at the boys from the covers of some trees. The paint is mixed with some honey to make it stickier and to ensure that the bugs in the area declare the boys as their new target. The message “LEAVE KATSUKI YUURI ALONE” written with the same paint on the concrete drives the reason behind the punishment home quickly. The boys run away and the Yuuko-senpai happens upon the girls mid-high-five. She congratulates them on their aim and offers to help them wash the paint off the concrete.

There is a bit of jealousy when they realise that Yuuko-senpai goes ice-skating with Yuuri-kun but once she promises to set up Ruka-chan’s camera during practice as well as teach them some beginner moves, she is firmly classified as an ally. Yuuko-senpai is also quite good at keeping Takeshi-senpai at bay, which means that they do not have to lead another Balloon Offensive with Takeshi-senpai as the target. Good thing too, as they are all out of paint.

Yumi-chan, the elected Vice President of the club is the first one to suggest that Yuuri-kun might feel more than friendship towards Yuuko-senpai. This demands another Emergency Meeting. Yuuko-senpai is almost reclassified as an enemy as she is clearly ignoring Yuuri-kun’s feelings. In the end, however, Yumi-chan is the voice of reason who mentions that maybe Yuuko-senpai can’t read Yuuri-kun as well as them (as she does not have hours and hours of his performance on tape, it is implied). Given that up to that point there were no indicators that Yuuko-senpai means ill to their idol they decide to give her the benefit of the doubt. They believe that Yuuri-kun will man up and ask her out eventually.

They are wrong but it all turns out fine in the end.

Time goes on. Yuuko-senpai is awarded a membership with a six-month probationary period. When they tell her the news she is ecstatic and gets them one of the small offices at the Ice Castle for the Saturday Viewings. This comes handy when Yuuri-kun starts to go to ballet competitions as Ruka-chan’s parents forbid snacks in the bedrooms.

The downside of competitions is that Yuuri-kun stops coming to their ballet class but the first day they are without him, Minako-sensei hands them his schedule and lets them know that she has put a little tripod on one of the shelves for them. She laughs at their dumbstruck faces and lets them know that they are nowhere close to subtle. They dub her their honorary Intelligence Officer.

Yuuko-senpai passes her probationary period, is dubbed Secretary and convinces Takeshi-senpai’s parents to give them the little room permanently as a base. She also glares Takeshi-senpai into submission when he laughs at them and makes him promise never to tell Yuuri-kun about their activities. Takeshi-senpai calls them weird but they notice him coming for Viewings more and more often. Still, he has a long way to go until he is offered even a probationary membership.

In the meantime, they have skating footage and ballet footage and sometimes they even “accidentally” run into Yuuri-kun at school or at the ice rink. Ayumi-chan starts talking about setting up a website for the club. They keep up with ballet and school, after all, the time of senior high school applications is coming soon. In whatever free time they have left they chase each other around on the ice rink and entertain themselves with the train crash that is Takeshi-senpai trying to woo Yuuko-senpai. When he succeeds, they show their approval by making him a member of the Fan Club.

As Yuuri-kun starts to collect more and more wins the interest in him starts to grow. They patent the Official Yuuri Katsuki Fan ClubTM because there is no way they will let some newbie take their name; Minako-sensei helps with the paperwork. Yuuri-kun is a vision as a dancer, his energy inspires them all to continue and Tomoe even considers building a career around ballet. Everything is perfect.

“I am going to take up competitive ice-skating,” says Yuuri-kun and their world is shaken again.

 

* * *

 

In hindsight, they probably should have seen it coming. After all, no matter how beautifully Yuuri-kun dances, it is nothing on the joy they can see when he is speeding through the air, skates giving him wings in ways ballet shoes never could. He was meant to be on the ice, and clearly Minako-sensei sees it too when she encourages him to shift his focus.

He never tells them in person, but they are not offended. They have seen enough of Yuuri-kun that they understand that in his mind they have forgotten him the moment he stopped taking classes with them. His lack of confidence is frustrating as usual but they have gotten used to it.

So they visit him at the Ice Castle. Scold him lightly for not letting them know, cheer him on as he practices his choreography and make him promise to drop in on their classes when he has time. He blushes but nods okay and more importantly, dances his choreography without errors in their presence which is as close to acceptance as it can get with him.

Minako-sensei proves herself as honorary Intelligence Officer again when she schedules his practice sessions at the times they have classes. After all, ballet is great for flexibility and provides a good alternative training for ice-skating and Yuuri-kun is nothing if not diligent. And if he is not competing in ballet anymore then he can just join their class until they need to focus on something that has a specific choreography, right? Yuuko-senpai ensures that they are always up to date regarding training footage and they watch Yuuri-kun as he learns jumps and spins and perfects the step sequences he would later become famous for.

He starts competing and they support him as usual, both from the sidelines and online. They update the description of the Official Katsuki Yuuri Fan ClubTM to include not only his accomplishments in ballet but all his skating events. Ayumi-chan continues maintaining the club’s website, training herself in programming languages when she can. Her efforts pay off when the site is deemed professional enough that it is linked in to Yuuri-kun’s official online presence. She realises that computer science is her calling and chooses senior high-schools accordingly.

Yumi-chan falls in love with acting and uses her knowledge in ballet to get herself supporting roles in musicals from which she plans on working up to acting roles, if her grades – and her parents – allow. She is the first one to leave Hasetsu when she finds a senior high-school that has a program that supports young idols in Tokyo. She moves in with her Aunt who lives in the city just after her fifteenth birthday.

Not a year after that Yuuko-senpai marries Takeshi-senpai. There is talk about it being a marriage of convenience, that they are only getting married because Yuuko-senpai is pregnant. And while it turns out that Yuuko-senpai is indeed pregnant (with triplets!), all of them know just how much those two love each other – they were there for nearly all stages of their relationship, after all – so the grumblers are quieted quickly and efficiently. Yuuri-kun is one of their loudest supporters and no-one is surprised when he is asked to be the godfather. Yuuko-senpai quits skating but after the triplets are born she and Takeshi-senpai take over the Ice Castle and once her time allows for it she takes up teaching the beginner classes.

Ruka-chan realises that words come easy to her when she starts writing articles for the Fan Club’s website – under a penname, of course, they don’t want to embarrass Yuuri-kun – and decides to focus on literature. She publishes her first short story about a skater who is cursed to turn into ice the longer he stays on it but remains faithful to the art at the age of sixteen. It gets enough recognition to encourage her to continue to write.

Tomoe stays true to ballet. Minako-sensei takes her on as a protégé and soon she is the one sent off to the same competitions Yuuri-kun used to go. Some movements come harder to her but the support of the club’s core is enough to help her gain confidence. She applies to do her classes online, which comes useful when she is offered a place with the New National Theatre Tokyo when she turns sixteen. She leaves Hasetsu in tears but with a smile on her face.

Yuuri-kun doesn’t stay in Hasetsu much longer either. He is barely seventeen when he is scouted by a US university offering scholarships to promising skaters. He leaves Japan before his eighteenth birthday and they all travel back to the sleepy little town to see him off. The farewell picture is uploaded to the club’s website, Yuuri-kun clinging to Vicchan as he is nearly mobbed by the emotional citizens of Hasetsu. Close to five years from now Ruka-chan will laminate the picture and send it off to Detroit with a note expressing their condolences. They will not mention it online, as the club’s first and foremost duty is still to protect Yuuri-kun, but they will know and cry for the sweet poodle.

 

* * *

 

The Official Katsuki Yuuri Fan ClubTM grows with the years but the core remains mostly unchanged. They do get an American Division with Phichit Chulanont as the President and an angry kid that refuses to share their names takes over the European Division because the previous President was an “incompetent loser who is an offence to skating as a whole!”.

They keep in touch and go to cheer Yuuri-kun on whenever they can. Ayumi-chan applies and is accepted to a US university which allows her from time-to-time to conveniently end up at the skating rink Yuuri-kun trains at (bless Phichit’s ability to lie with a straight face). When there are competitions in Tokyo it is Tomoe and Yumi-chan who host whoever can make it to the city and they make a party of the viewing. Ruka-chan makes some friends amongst journalists and they get another ally in the form of reporter Morooka. Ayumi-chan also ensures that the website is as free from toxic fans or haters as possible and the attitude of the Official Katsuki Yuuri Fan ClubTM becomes famous amongst fan clubs.

Ayumi-chan finds love in the US and she gets engaged when she turns twenty-one. They come back to Japan to celebrate and the core of the Official Katsuki Yuuri Fan ClubTM is there to welcome her and her girlfriend in Hasetsu. Tomoe smiles at Kimiko-chan who looks radiant next to Ayumi-chan, the two of them surrounded by relatives and friends.

The programmer and the linguist, who even though are both from Japan fell in love abroad and are set to return to American soil as fiancées with full Master’s scholarships. Next to them is Ruka-chan, one of the most lauded writers of their generation, Yumi-chan, this year’s recipient of the Japan Academy Prize Newcomer of the Year, Minako-senpai, a recipient of the Benois de la Danse and Yuuko-senpai who outshines all simply by not murdering her triplet daughters (or her husband). Bless those girls, but they are living nightmares, no matter how cute.

And then there is she, silver medallist at the 2014 USA IBC. And there are the congratulatory messages from Phichit-kun and Yura-kun who has caved in and told them his (nick)name a year ago. There is even a message from Yuuri-kun who is murdering his feet trying to perfect his triple axel per Phichit-kun…

And there is someone touching her arm lightly.

“Would you like to dance?”

Tomoe blinks up at Shouta-kun, taller and broader in the shoulders than the last time she saw him, tentative half-smile on his face. Shouta-kun who kept flinging balls of paper at her and pulling her hair in junior high-school and whom she always expected to stay a bully. Who has asked her to dance on Yuuko-senpai’s wedding and was baffled when she turned him down, flushing red when she reminded him just how unkind he was to her for years before. Who has stood in front of a glowering Minako-sensei as he waited for her so that he could apologise but did not expect her acceptance or forgiveness. Who has messaged her with no expectations and worked with her to build a friendship that withstood her move to Tokyo and his to Fukuoka.

Tomoe thinks of paths that seemed so certain to her and that could have easily become her and her friends’ present if she had not gone back for that water bottle and fallen in love with a beautiful boy dancing as Odette. She catches Yumi-chan winking at her, Ruka-chan making little shooing motions behind Shouta-kun’s back and Minako-senpai openly smirking at the pair and can’t help but feel grateful for her forgetfulness on that day.

She smiles at Shouta-kun.

“Sure.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which what was supposed to be Phichit’s Best Day Ever quickly turns into a strong contender for Worst Day Ever. Then he meets Katsuki Yuuri.  
> On an entirely (?) unrelated note, the officials of Wayne State University note that the newly started figure skating program has rapidly developed a strong following amongst the student body. They are quite baffled by this which shows that it has been many years since they had the mindset (or libido) of a young person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh, I did not expect such a positive reaction to this fic, you guys made my day! Thank you so much! :)
> 
> Also, fun fact but these chapters were meant to be drabble lenght when I first came up with this idea. Yeah, I don't really know what I was smoking either.
> 
> Betaed by the lovely [WarriorNun ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/WarriorNun/pseuds/WarriorNun) :)  
> Anyway, on with the story!

#### 2\. Phichit Chulanont: President of the Official Katsuki Yuuri Fan ClubTM (American Division)

 

The day Phichit Chulanont first meets Katsuki Yuuri is supposed to be his Best Day Ever.

Or at least one of his Best Day Evers, Phichit is a positive guy, he is certain that he is set out for many Best Day Evers, but still, this was supposed to be one of them. He is moving to the US to be trained by Celestino Cialdini at the young age of seventeen, set to start university at Wayne State University at eighteen. He is going to train with Coach Cialdini for a year or two in juniors then move to seniors and nothing will stop him until he… well, until he probably silvers under Viktor Nikiforov, let’s keep things realistic here.

But still, this is his first step towards that bright future that puts Thailand on the figure skating map, it is a huge thing! Which is why he thinks he is allowed to panic a little when everything goes to hell in a handbasket.

He starts his day by oversleeping and nearly missing his flight to Detroit. That is partially his fault, mind, because instead of going to bed early he spends hours going through his Instagram and posting pictures celebrating the life of his late hamster. Coffee lived a long and full life and while Phichit was devastated to see him go he wanted to concentrate on the wonderful memories they had together. Coffee was his first pet which means that 80% of Phichit’s phone gallery are pictures of a cute brown hamster, which draws out the picture selection process quite a bit. Phichit nods off at around 2 a.m., and it is only thanks to his Mæ̀ that he wakes up just in time to speed to the airport and reach his plane before the doors are closed.

He spends most of the first flight being noisily sick and has the belated realisation that he has forgotten to pack any of his motion sickness pills. Luckily his side of the aisle is empty so he manages to avoid barfing on any of his fellow passengers but considering the fact that his first flight to Seoul is more than five hours, he finds it difficult to see the silver lining by the end of it. He buys motion sickness pills during his layover at Seoul but then he decides that he is well enough to try the ice-skating rink at the airport and is wiped out by a speeding child, adding some bruises to the aches already present in his body.

His flight from Seoul to Detroit is packed and he spends 13 hours squished between a couple in a middle of a rough spot in their marriage who argue over his head and refuse to switch seats with him, no matter how desperately he offers. He gets off the plane with a still upset stomach, a headache pounding behind his temples and big enough bags underneath his eyes that he could use them for a week’s worth of shopping. Then he finds out at the airport that the bag containing most of his skating gear has been accidentally put on a plane headed to Vancouver and it will take two to four days for it to arrive to Detroit. Phichit considers praying for lightning to strike him.

In the light of the above events it is probably not surprising that when Coach Cialdini sees him the big man wordlessly bundles him into his car and once they get back to the little house they will be staying at, he plies him with surprisingly good green tea.

“Yuuri brought it with him from Japan,” he explains and Phichit looks around in search of his elusive flatmate.

He has tried googling Katsuki Yuuri but his only consistent SNS presence is his Fan Club, which while useful when searching for basics and his competition footage is a bit too impersonal when it comes to Phichit’s usual level of stalking (he calls it research) of new potential friends. Still, he subscribes to the website and spends a few days going through Yuuri’s dance and then skating routines. He is a good skater, a top skater in Japan, has gone senior at nineteen but so far his performance as a senior division skater falls behind his accomplishments as a junior.

Still, Phichit is excited to meet him (as excited as he can be while feeling not unlike roadkill), so he is disappointed when Coach Cialdini tells him that Yuuri had to go take care of some administrative issues at the university and he will not be back for at least half an hour. Coach Cialdini tells him to unpack whatever luggage he has with him while he makes them some light lunch. Phichit goes.

He has just finished putting his clothes into the wardrobe, homesickness starting to set in as he surveys the bland little room when there is a knock on his door.

“Come in!” he yells out and in comes Katsuki Yuuri… with a hamster plushie in his hands.

And Phichit has handled this day quite well, if he says so himself, but the sight of the fuzzy toy that looks nothing like Coffee but still makes him think of his beloved pet. Makes him recall the warmth of his room at home and contrast it to the bland white walls of this place where no-one speaks his language and his English is not _bad_ per se but it is not _good_ either, and what if his luggage never arrives and he cannot skate and Coach Cialdini will send him back in shame and Thailand will never be a country famous for its figure skating all because of him…

Phichit looks at the plushy and at Katsuki Yuuri and be bursts into tears, flinging himself at the other young man.

He knows he is overreacting because he is tired and still a bit unwell but once the tears start he has a hard time stopping them. His face burns at the thought of introducing himself to his flatmate as a huge sobbing mess but Katsuki does not recoil from him. Even though no-one would not blame him if he pushed Phichit away; after all he just launched himself at the other skater and is probably snotting on his t-shirt as they speak. Instead of any of those (completely acceptable) reactions, Yuuri (Phichit just snotty-cried on the guy, he is using his first name from now on) lightly pats Phichit on the shoulder, tentatively returning the embrace. Phichit gives him a mental gold star.

They stay like that for a few minutes until Phichit manages to control his sobs. Yuuri offers him a few tissues and Phichit offers to wash his t-shirt that does indeed have the signs of a snot-attack. Yuuri tells him not to worry about it, he helped his parents run their inn before coming here, he is disturbingly comfortable with getting bodily fluids out of fabrics. He sees Phichit’s undoubtedly flabbergasted expression and nearly falls over laughing, and just like that all the awkwardness is gone.

He offers the plushie with a shy smile.

“Hi, I am Yuuri, it is nice to meet you. I have seen on your Instagram that your hamster has recently passed away, I thought that you could use a companion,” he murmurs with cheeks still flushed with laughter.

He speaks slowly but Phichit can tell that he only wants to make sure that he understands what he says and he is incredibly grateful. He takes the plushie and it is the perfect size for a hug, soft and cuddly.

“Hi, I am Phichit! Thank you, I love it!” he chirps and Yuuri looks relieved as if he thought there was a chance that Phichit would be offended, which Phichit thinks to be a ridiculous notion. Yuuri beams at him and Phichit’s heart skips a beat.

Now that his sight is not obscured by tears he can see that Yuuri is quite pretty in a quiet and unassuming way. The glasses make him look a bit dorky but the wind outside has mussed his hair enough that it is not too nerdy to be cute, and the shy smile on his face lends it a softness that you don’t see when you are watching his competition footage.

Their budding small talk is broken by a loud Italian voice and Phichit blinks.

“Is that Coach Cialdini saying that lunch is ready?” he asks and watches as Yuuri blanches.

“Celestino is cooking?!”

It turns out that Celestino – he tells Phichit to drop the whole Coach Cialdini business because it makes him feel ancient – can burn water and is officially forbidden from the kitchen. While they wait for the smoke of what was meant to be lasagne to air out they order takeout – “Just this once, from tomorrow onwards it’s back to healthy eating for the two of you!” – and discuss training, university and chores. As Phichit is still a minor, Celestino shares the little house with them but he promises to discuss the arrangement again once Phichit turns twenty.

Phichit will start a pre-university course to make sure his English is up to the challenge while Yuuri will continue with his Bachelor’s degree. Phichit is originally surprised when his coach does not bat an eyelash at his degree choice, Biological Sciences is not a subject often chosen by athletes. Once he realises that Yuuri is a Physics major who is determined to continue with Master’s degree later, Celestino’s easy acceptance makes a lot more sense. Their training schedule is demanding but it gives them some opportunity to socialise; this Celestino seems to be saying more to Yuuri than to him, which is a bit odd. All in all, it is very reasonable and Phichit feels his internal sense of balance realign itself: he will be fine.

 

* * *

 

Phichit is not fine. He is so not fine that if you looked up the expression ‘not fine’ in an illustrated dictionary, it would be his face mimicking a fish on the picture. He pinches himself, maybe he is having weird jetlag-fuelled dreams? Nope, it hurts. But then…

“I know, amazing, right?” comments Celestino next to him, behaving as if the scene in front of them was something normal.

As if it was completely normal for Yuuri to whizz around the rink skating a program that could be his Senior Grand Prix free skate _if_ his Senior Grand Prix free skate had enough higher level jumps that as far as Phichit could see it could easily get him at least twenty points more than what he got at the competition.  As if Yuuri was this carelessly elegant every time he touched the ice, with steps sharp enough that Phichit considers the sacrilege of naming them better than Nikiforov’s.

“What,” he tries but the rest of the sentence gets stuck in his head as Yuuri transitions into a layback Ina Bauer that looks like it could break Phichit’s spine if he tried it.

Celestino grins.

“And he is still getting used to his body after his last growth spurt,” he shares.

Phichit can feel his jaw hanging but there is nothing he can do to stop it.

“But…!” he windmills towards the other skater, words again stuck but his whole body expressing his question: if Yuuri is this good, how come he has not stood on the podium of the Senior Grand Prix?!

Celestino’s grin fades and he signals Phichit to be quiet. Yuuri finishes the routine, eyes up towards the heavens, posture grace personified.

“Good job, Yuuri! Now again, from the beginning!” their coach yells and Phichit can only stare as Yuuri full-body flinches at the interruption.

His face goes red as his eyes land on the two standing rink-side and Phichit feels like his presence just disturbed something precious. Yuuri nods and starts the routine again but his movements are choppy, the previous airy quality of his skating missing as if he was weighted down by invisible burdens. His skating is still good, but a lot closer to what he saw in the Grand Prix and not comparable to the previous routine.

He glances at Celestino. His coach looks again as if this was normal, as if Yuuri routinely lost his wings on the ice for no apparent reason whatsoever.

“What…?” he starts but the words get stuck again. What’s wrong with him? What can bring back the skater I just saw? What can I do to help?!

Celestino seems to hear his questions anyway.

“Yuuri gets anxious when skating in front of strangers,” he explains with a sigh and Phichit can feel his heart breaking for his new friend who stops mid-routine, clearly frustrated with the quality of his performance.

A professional skater who can’t perform in front of others might as well hang his skates up. They are meant to be telling stories on the ice after all, and if the storyteller is afraid of the audience, how can he enchant the masses? In the end, he is his own greatest enemy. And still, Phichit doesn’t have it in himself to give up on the older skater, not when Yuuri is doing his best to help him feel home in Detroit, when he got so far with his anxiety, when Phichit can see the potential that he could unlock if only there was a way to fight his condition!

Fine. Challenge accepted. Step One: get Yuuri more comfortable with Phichit around.

“Yuuri, you must teach me how to do spins like yours, they are amazing!” he yells as he takes of his skate guards and rushes onto the ice.

Yuuri flushes again but when Celestino nods he is happy to show parts of his step sequence. Phichit is ready to fake incompetence to make him feel more comfortable but it turns out that Yuuri’s years in ballet enable him to move in ways Phichit has no hope of copying properly. Still, the other skater is patient with him, giving him little tips and correcting his feet until his copy starts to resemble the original.

As they work, Yuuri’s movements regain some of their previous grace, and when Celestino orders them off the ice his friend is calmer, more secure in his body. He still freezes up from time-to-time and is a bit too timid to criticise Phichit’s steps with the harshness they deserve, but they have made progress and Phichit thinks that they will get there. And to the title best friends because Yuuri is clearly ignoring Phichit’s obvious little crush – and that’s okay, he is happy to be friends, he refuses to turn into a “nice guy” –, but Phichit will become this man’s best friend or die trying. He will help Yuuri show his talent to everyone because they all need to see it and because Yuuri needs to know just how good he is. And if he won’t see it for himself, he will realise it once he sees it in the eyes of the spectators.

Bring on Step Two.

 

* * *

 

Step Two turns out to be a lot more complicated than Phichit could have ever imagined, but it also sheds a lot of light on Yuuri’s personality and lack of awareness. Especially the latter. Because it turns out that Yuuri is _not at all_ aware of Phichit’s obvious little crush… nor is he aware of the fact that at least half of the student body is in love with/lusting over him.

Phichit finds this out when he goes into one of the cafes to get a quick caffeine fix before his English class and is promptly mobbed by half a cheerleading squad and a football team. Amongst the cacophony of questions that mainly enquire after his relationship to Yuuri, whether he knows if Yuuri is single, if he thinks he and his partner would be open to a threesome, no, foursome, if he could give Yuuri a message or a gift or their hand in marriage he figures out that these feelings are not limited to those present. Once he has repeated “no comment” enough times that he feels like a celebrity or a criminal the crowd calms down and slowly disperses, but not without letting him know that if he ever needs anything, just let them know, after all, everything for Yuuri’s new friend.

Phichit blinks at his latte. There is a little heart with a phone number for Yuuri written on it and a cookie next to it he does not remember paying for. He feels like he should be offended – after all he was completely ignored as a prospective conquest –, but then he thinks about Yuuri’s smile and his habit of going jogging in tight workout tops and in those tracksuit bottoms that hug his ass just _so_ and the people of Wayne State University are forgiven. However, the fact that Yuuri is completely oblivious to the emotional carnage around him suggests that simply seeing himself admired by others will not be enough to help with his confidence issues… mainly because he probably won’t notice the admiration.

Clearly his Step Two will need a lot of refinement.

He starts with research. Well, he calls it research but it is mainly just him trolling the university forums and showing up in public places to be screamed at by horny students. His results are as hilarious as they are disheartening.

It turns out that the figure-skating scholarship was started as an afterthought at Wayne State University. There was a rink nearby and there was some funding left so they set out a scholarship for one student that covered all fees including coaching. That student ended up being Katsuki Yuuri who joined the university as an unassuming fresher to study physics and train with Celestino. And everything was fine until the first Fresher’s Party of the year.

Now, it is important to know that Phichit is quite like the Internet when it comes to evidentiary support: pics or it didn’t happen. There are no pics, but after he hears the tenth person mention the Fresher’s Party (capital letters and all) like one would a religious experience, Phichit is willing to believe that it must have been epic. There is no official account as despite the drinking laws in the US everyone was completely wasted, but what is clear that Yuuri arrived at the party at around 10 p.m. in jeans, a black t-shirt and a light coat, left around midnight completely smashed but sans the t-shirt and the jeans and took heart all participants with him.

The party got shut down not long after when there was a brawl over said jeans and t-shirt. Neither items of clothing have survived and with their demise all the evidence of the night disappeared. Yuuri has refused to participate in any other parties ever since to the collective despair of the student body. With him being a quiet, serious student, they have attempted to connect with him through his sport. As Celestino made sure that the practice sessions remained private the Yuuri-enthusiasts had to make do with watching the object of their interest as he jogged through the campus which if Phitchit thinks about it explains the stops of the Running Club’s daily track.

There were organised viewings of Yuuri’s competitions and exhibitions. The Japanese Culture Club is one of the largest cultural clubs in the university. The ice rink is booked with enthusiastic beginners every day there is no official training… Even the university administration noticed the increased interest in skating, hence the additional scholarship that brought one Phichit Chulanont to Detroit. Everyone, except Yuuri who is completely clueless.

Phichit considers checking his friend’s glasses.

Then one day, when Phichit has been living in Detroit for around six months Yuuri forgets to cook dinner. In his defence, he is slaving away at his Bachelor’s thesis, an internal deadline closing in along with the Four Continents that is in a few weeks, where unlike Phichit he is seen as a serious contender. Phichit gets home from classes, finds the kitchen entry, shrugs and starts cooking to make sure there is food before Celestino comes back and attempts to torch their place in the name of helping.

Phichit doesn’t mind cooking and is happy to help his friend, but when Yuuri realises that he has forgotten his chore he panics. Phichit makes the mistake of joking about how Yuuri wants to sabotage his competition but instead of laughing his friend blanches. Phichit promises to never make jokes like that again but even so it takes him hours to ensure that Yuuri knows there are no hard feelings and that he didn’t manage to damage their friendship beyond repair because Phichit had to make the stir fry this time. By the time Celestino comes home they are both fine but Phichit realises at that point that while Yuuri is completely oblivious to any positive characteristics he has, his brain highlights his smallest faults with flashing neon lights.

Step Two seems so far away that it might as well be on the Moon.

 

* * *

 

Phichit turns to the Internet for ideas. Yuuri’s SNS accounts are still useless and his family’s are not much better either. However, as he is scrolling down videos of a young Yuuri – courtesy of the Official Katsuki Yuuri Fan ClubTM – there is one girl who is featured in many of the skating videos. It is not hard to find the contact information of Nishigori Yuuko and Phichit fires off a quick email to her, introducing himself and complimenting her skating style.

Yuuko is quick to reply. Phichit is surprised to note that she has three daughters and is one of the owners of the ice rink in the videos, but the woman is not at all surprised by Yuuri’s silence on his friends from home. They start chatting and Phichit lasts three emails before unleashing his issues regarding Yuuri’s lack of confidence, begging for tips on how to help his friend. Yuuko introduces him to the core members of the Official Katsuki Yuuri Fan ClubTM and the women share the little tips they have found to work when encouraging the shy skater.

It turns out that Ayumi – one of the founding members – studies in the US as well, and they meet up when she is on break. Even though they cannot offer him any fix-it-all solutions, it helps when Ayumi comments on how far Yuuri came compared to when he was back in Hasetsu. It seems like Step Two is meant to be taken in a glacial pace, but if going slow means that Yuuri might get to a level once where he can skate to the best of his ability in front of a crowd, Phichit is willing to wait.

Months go by.

Phichit is willing to wait, but at the same time, he needs a space where he can squeal about his friend’s talent and there are only so many times he can silent-scream to Cream, the plush hamster. He is in the middle of bemoaning his struggles to Ayumi when the idea comes to him and the American Division of the Official Katsuki Yuuri Fan ClubTM is born. The club becomes insanely popular amongst the student body, however the fact that it remains entirely online manages to downplay its size in the eyes of its obsession. Yuuri is not happy when Phichit confesses of being the President of the Division, however, he is quick to agree once Phichit reminds his friend that this way he can help to ensure that none of Yuuri’s drunk pictures reach the Internet. He does not understand the pressure he will be under to break his vow until later.

Phichit manages to drag his friend to a few parties once he starts his actual degree – and passes eighteen which is an age Yuuri won’t bulge on even though it won’t make him an adult here or in Thailand –, and he understands the reverence around the Fresher’s Party the moment Yuuri gets drunk enough to dance. When he starts stripping, well, let’s just say he is happy that he managed to get over his crush on his friend.

Yuuri’s drunk pictures are gold. If Phichit ever needs extra cash he is certain that he could just put a few on eBay and it would set him up for life. He gets requests like that from time-to-time anyway, some of Yuuri’s fans are _thirsty_. Phichit and the rest of the core make sure that they stay off the Internet but there is an unvoiced agreement that once Yuuri settles down they will unravel their treasure, probably as a wedding gift to the lucky person who has been selected by their idol.

He studies hard, trains hard, convinces Yuuri to take up pole-dancing as a hobby and a core-building exercise and they also dabble in hip hop. They co-parent three hamsters. Yuuri competes in senior division with mixed success while Phichit gets better and better in junior. When their competitions coincide, they go sightseeing. Celestino offers to take them to Italy on a short holiday and Phichit nicknames him Ciao Ciao. Yuuri starts his Master’s but they finally succeed in convincing him to take it easier this time so that they can avoid a repeat of his last term as a Bachelor’s student.

Phichit is nineteen when Ayumi gets engaged to her long-term girlfriend Kimiko and goes back to Japan to celebrate the event. He and Yuuri both send them congratulatory messages as neither can go in person. Phichit is working on his combination jumps because his landing is often shaky at the end and Yuuri is manically trying to perfect his triple Axel in preparation for the Grand Prix. They drag themselves back to the house covered in bruises more often than not but they have a road trip planned for the rest of the summer once they have reached a 90% or higher success ratio.

Phichit enters senior division at nineteen but as luck would have it Yuuri and he are not sorted into the same classifying rounds. He competes against Viktor Nikoforov and Christophe Giacometti in France and even though he does not reach the podium he enjoys being in the presence of the other skaters. He only freaks out a little bit when they shake hands with him and introduce themselves.

He has a somewhat odd exchange with Viktor when the older skater warns him that one of his younger rink-mates has taken to aggressively stalking Phichit’s Instagram. Viktor does not have an explanation behind the youngster’s behaviour but Phichit sees Christophe trying to hold back his snickers so he guesses it has something to do with Yuuri. Oh well, at least his Instagram is on point, something he cannot say of any of his friend’s social media accounts. The blond skater invites him out after the competition and Phichit drinks him under the table with ease, mocks Chris’s pole-dance routine and drunk-texts Viktor Nikiforov using Chris’s phone to tell him that he is no fun for staying in the hotel and that he has the second finest ass in this competition with Phichit’s and Christophe’s tying at third place. When Chris tries to contest his judgement, he asks him if his ass has three separate public shrines at his alma mater. No? He thought so too.

He wakes up with a splitting headache and a bunch of selfies with Chris that would get flagged on Instagram if he were to upload them. Later the Swiss man sends them a picture of Viktor’s face in an obvious sulk with the caption “second finest, Chris?!”. He is still snickering about it when he gets back to Detroit. Yuuri takes one look at his face and wisely asks no questions, accepting his congratulations for his silver medal from Skate America.

Yuuri goes to China and wins another silver. This time he is the one who ends up in a random club with Chris but their clothes stay on due to a lack of poles at the place. According to his friend the hangover is still horrendous. Phichit is sent to Russia and finishes fourth again which means that he does not get into the final. Yuuri does and is planning to go to Sochi while Phichit stays behind in Detroit trying to whip his thesis proposal into a shape that can be submitted to his advisor.

Vicchan is hit by a car on the last week of November.

Yuuri is devastated and cries himself to sleep, Phichit and their hamsters keeping him company when he wants them to and leaving him alone when he can’t stand to be with others. Ciao Ciao makes him take a two-days break from practice but it seems to do more harm than good. The Fan Club keeps it under wrap, they don’t need people butting their noses into Yuuri’s business.

Ruka sends them a laminated picture of Vicchan and Phichit helps Yuuri to set up a little shrine to his beloved dog until he can visit the real one. He offers to go to Sochi with him but they both know that plane tickets so close to departure date cost a fortune that neither of them can afford. Ciao Ciao and Yuuri leave for Sochi and Phichit watches them go with a heavy heart.

Sochi is a nightmare.

It is as if all progress Yuuri made when it comes to performing in front of a crowd was lost with Vicchan. His movements are stiff; he flubs and downgrades jumps during his short program, but it is nothing to the disaster that is his free skate. He ends up on sixth space, more than a hundred points below the winner (Viktor, of course). Phichit knows his friend is going to be devastated but he also knows that in times like this he needs to let Yuuri reach out first, when he is ready.

He hears nothing from his friend until he meets them at the airport. Weirdly enough both Celestino and Yuuri seem completely hungover, but Phichit supposes that at least they took advantage of the open bar at the banquet. They go back to the small house and Yuuri lasts until they get to his room before he breaks down. Phichit hugs him with all his might, makes him some hot chocolate and piles their hamsters on him. They spend the day like that.

The next day when Phichit looks at Yuuri he knows that his friend has made up his mind. He is not surprised when Yuuri tells Ciao Ciao that he wants to end their contract. Neither is their coach.

 

* * *

 

Yuuri goes to the Japanese Nationals but he performs abysmally, finishing as eleventh. He comes back to Detroit even quieter and starts sorting out his room, saving what he wants to take home and donating/selling all he doesn’t. He is set to finish his Master’s degree before leaving, but even though his departure date is not until March, Phichit feels that he has barely any time left with his friend.

Phichit goes to Four Continents and wins a bronze. Even though he has managed to shake off the shackles of the fourth place he would rather be last in the competition but with Yuuri. His thesis proposal is accepted but he starts to play with the idea of finishing university via distance learning. After all, if Yuuri is not in the US, why should he be there?

Yuuri submits his thesis early and as neither of them have exams they decide to do a bit more sightseeing in. Ayumi and Kimiko join them when they are around their neck of woods and for a week they are just students on vacation, eating massive portions of junk food when the mood strikes them and buying uglier and uglier souvenirs for Yuuri to take home to his family. But the date for the Worlds is fast approaching Ciao Ciao has called Phichit five times already to tell him to get his butt back to train so they say bye to the girls and drive back to Detroit.

Their trip is over but Yuuri seems to have reached a conclusion within himself and Phichit finds his friend back in his quiet but content mindset. Yuuri defends his thesis and Phichit gets chewed out for daring to eat junk food before the Worlds but Ciao Ciao looks reassured when he sees that the trip has greatly improved the mood of his ex-student. This does not mean that Phichit escapes without extreme gym exercises, but when he is lying is on the floor feeling like he is about to die his coach pats his back.

“Good job,” mutters Ciao Ciao quietly and Phichit knows that he is worried for the other skater but they can both see that for Yuuri to advance he needs a change of scenery.

It doesn’t make saying goodbye any less difficult but at least they have the future to look forward to.

The American Division of the Official Katsuki Yuuri Fan ClubTM announces Yuuri’s decision to part ways with Celestino and to return to Japan three days before the skater is set to leave. This is entirely intentional on Phichit’s part although when the university nearly goes into mourning he wonders if he should have just kept quiet about it.

A Hasetsu native has posted about Vicchan’s death – the disadvantage of living in an inn is that the whole town knows about your private business –, so they can all guess the reason behind Yuuri’s performance at the Grand Prix and the Nationals but their sympathetic stares don’t make it easier on his friend. They don’t gossip – the Official Katsuki Yuuri Fan ClubTM’s reason for existence is to protect their idol – but they are curious and they want to express their condolences, however clumsily they do so. Yuuri is mainly just baffled by their sympathy and Phichit again contemplates just how blind his friend is when it comes to others’ regard of him.

Of course, there are also the people wailing about how will they start their day without seeing Yuuri’s morning run. Those he keeps away from Yuuri but they vastly improve Phichit’s mood, especially the days after Yuuri leaves Detroit.

They last until the airport without crying on the day Yuuri leaves.

“I will miss you, Phichit-kun,” sniffles Yuuri, dwarfed by his coat.

“I will just come and visit you in Japan! Or you can visit me! And you can’t disappear, use your Instagram,” Phichit smiles through his tears, hugging his best friend one more time.

He knows that Yuuri is still not at a good place, mentally, and he worries that his friend will give up skating for good, a step that he thinks Yuuri would regret forever. But he has been away from home so long that he thinks the change in scenery might just bring that lost energy back and inspire his friend to come back to the fold. Yuuko has already promised to keep him in the loop in case Yuuri cuts social media off as he is won’t to do when he is upset so he will know when to conveniently call his friend.

From what he knows from the other Fan Club members Okukawa Minako is a horrifying task master so she will ensure that Yuuri gets back into top form. The rest depends on his friend, but if there is any one thing Phichit Chulanont is certain it is that Katsuki Yuuri is not ready to leave the ice behind yet.

Everything will be fine.

Phichit goes to the Worlds, ends up in the best ten. Chris is there but he does not feel like going out this time and the blonde seems to understand the reason behind his upset. He also looks a bit shifty, as if he knew something that Phichit didn’t, which is odd because usually Phichit is on top of the gossip. Viktor is also surprisingly present, he stays involved in socialising too which is quite odd again, but then he is the five time Worlds Champion, he is allowed to be odd now and then. Sometimes Phichit has a feeling that Viktor wants to talk to him but then dismisses it as Yuuri’s hero worship affecting his brain. Why would Viktor Nikiforov want to talk to him?

Phichit goes back to Detroit, files his paperwork for distance learning, packs up the little house with Ciao Ciao and flies home to Bangkok. His coach is to follow him after spending some time with his family in a month or so, which gives him plenty of time to get used to his new home base. He is voted to remain the President of the American Division of the Official Katsuki Yuuri Fan ClubTM which means that he will probably screw his sleep schedule to hell trying to post in Detroit hours but it is a sacrifice he is willing to make. Things slowly start to fall into place again.

Then the video of Yuuri skating Viktor Nikiforov’s routine is posted online.

It is done with Yuuko’s YouTube account and is viral within minutes. Later they find out that her triplet daughters posted it and Phichit starts to understand why everyone calls them cute hellspawn. Yuuri cuts off all media and turns off his phone as it is expected of him but Phichit is confident that his friend will weather this storm as well. The Official Katsuki Yuuri Fan ClubTM gears themselves to fight the haters and trolls and the incident is as contained as it can get. They let themselves breathe again.

Then Yuuko calls an Emergency Meeting and the news make Phichit doubt his eyes:

Viktor Fucking Nikiforov is in Hasetsu.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ######  Thai facts/words
> 
>  **Age of maturity:** Apparently in Thailand the age of maturity is 20.  
>  **Pet names:** Apparently thai people like to name their pets after food/drinks.  
>  **Mæ̀:** mum.  
> 
> 
> ###### Airport facts
> 
>  **Bangkok-Detroit:** According to skyscanner there are no direct flights between Bangkok and Detroit, the shortest one is approximately 21 hours including layover time in Seoul.  
>  **Seoul Incheon Airport:** It does indeed have an ice-skating rink, as well as a cinema, a hospital pharmacy and a museum.  
> 
> 
> ###### Skating facts
> 
>  **Going senior:** while skaters as young as Yuri can go senior, they can wait until they are 20.  
> 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yuri Plisetsky learns to express himself. He does it mostly by shouting, but with the kind of people he has as rink mates, it is not surprising. Yakov wonders what has he done in a past life to deserve this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's European Division Tiiiime! :D
> 
> Hope you will like this chapter, I had fun writing it :) It has also grown longer compared to the previous chapters because clearly I am incapable keeping up a constant chapter lenght. Sorry?
> 
> Also, I have a beta reader! It is the lovely [WarriorNun](http://archiveofourown.org/users/WarriorNun/pseuds/WarriorNun), who was kind enough to correct all of my silly spelling mistakes! I will update the previous chapters with the betaed versions as well but I figured that a new chapter will be more appreciated :)
> 
> Also, usually I put all my research-related notes in the end, but I figure this one is essential at the beginnig of the chapter:  
> In this chapter I will be using the Russian naming system. There is a really good description of it done by the amazing [Vasya](http://c0rnfl0wer.tumblr.com/post/158793053134/psa-for-the-yoi-fandom-russian-names-how-to-use) if you are interested, but for the sake of the story you only need to know that I have chosen the diminutive Gosha for Georgi (like Vitya for Viktor and Yura for Yuri) and that according to Google, Mila's dimunitive can just be Mila so I left it like that. 
> 
> Anyway, on with the story!

#### 3\. Yuri Plisetsky, President (by Coup) of the Official Katsuki Yuuri Fan ClubTM (European Division)

 

Yuri learns it early on that you cannot trust people to not lie to you. This doesn’t mean that everyone is out to hurt you, far from it; often the intent behind the lies isn’t malicious at all. People lie all the time, sometimes because they think it’s less painful this way (“Yuratchka, you’re too young to take care of a cat now, we will get one when you’re older” instead of “We don’t have the money to feed another mouth, even if it is only a tiny kitten”). They lie because they are too prideful to accept the truth (“Mama is too busy to take you to the rink right now, but Dedushka will take you instead, okay?” instead of “I can’t stand to see the ice and remember all that I lost when I left it”) and they lie because they want you to be happy (“Of course you can keep on skating!” instead of “The fees are too expensive on the long run, we just can’t afford them”). They lie and when reality disagrees they lie more to cover it up. And they lie not just with words; they wear masks that cover up their real emotions, smile when they would rather cry and step away when they would rather step closer. They lie and it’s confusing, it’s frustrating but Yuri learns soon enough that this is just how the world is, and that if he wants to carve out place for himself in it, he will need to learn to play the game as well.

Yuri is young but he is smart, and he is a quick study. It doesn’t take him long to realise that with his pretty features he can snag sponsors easily as long as he makes sure that he remains on his best behaviour around them. He learns to stay quiet around reporters, especially when the sharks who hounded Mama set their sights on him, comparing him to her and wondering with false sympathy about how she must feel, seeing her son dance on the ice that hurt her so. As if he was stupid and did not notice how closed off Mama becomes the moment anyone mentions her career and the fall that smashed it as it smashed her knee. As if he didn’t know just how nasty the commentary was when she got pregnant with him not long after her retirement, reporters implying that she could have returned if she didn’t choose her own selfish happiness over representing Russia in the skating world. As if it was not a burden Mama still wore, just as painful as her abused ligaments.

Yuri is not stupid, but he needs these people to be on his side so he stays quiet. He smiles when he needs to and grits his teeth when he would rather chew them out for not leaving Mama alone and Russia falls in love with the little boy committed to skating. He becomes the provider for his family before he even starts senior school. It means that Mama can afford better treatments for her ruined knee and his Dedushka can spend time puttering in the kitchen, making sure he doesn’t stress his back. So what if the masks he puts on make him feel isolated from the world, like no-one can see the real him? They allow him to help his family and to skate, and that’s enough for now.

He competes locally and is taken on by different coaches. The contracts never last long, the coaches balking when they realise that Yuri is far from the pretty, malleable little thing they see when he is talking to reporters or sponsors. He is labelled too strong-willed, unteachable, a problem-child in skating. Mama shakes her head at his stubbornness, warns him that he will need to bend his will in order to succeed, he can’t just trample his way to the top. She makes it sound like it would only be a small, easy sacrifice but the mere thought of giving up more of his control makes Yuri tremble inside. He does not argue but he doesn’t change either and he feels the gap that skating created between them widen even further.

It all culminates in his decision to move to St. Petersburg when he turns twelve. He is ready to start competing on junior level and he manages to get himself contracted to Yakov Feltsman. Dedushka agrees to move with him to the other city where Feltsman’s home base is, but Mama decides to remain in Moscow.

“Dedushka will take care of you and you can visit me anytime, Yuratchka,” she says with a smile, but she doesn’t promise to visit him.

Yuri is hurt but at the same time he feels a strange sense of relief. He has seen pictures of his late father and he knows that his colouring is strikingly similar to the man; maybe without him there to remind Mama what else she lost on top of her career, she can start again. Twelve is too young to lose both of one’s parents, but Yuri draws his mask tighter around him and smiles at Mama.

“Of course, Mama,” he says and that’s it.

He moves to St. Petersburg. Mama calls and he visits her, but he is not surprised when she meets someone not long after. He is a doctor, boring but he seems to make her happy. Yuri’s visits dwindle. He misses Mama but he still has Dedushka and he has the ice. He also has new rink mates, but he can’t say that he finds their presence inspiring or even calming.

He is by far the youngest of the group. The only one close to his age is Mila Babicheva, a thin redhead who is still three years his senior, and does not hesitate to rub this fact in. Yuri calls her Baba but instead of getting angry at him, she just laughs and puts him into a headlock. She is deceptively strong and it takes several kicks for her to release him. She hugs him immediately after, calling him a cute little kitten and Yuri chases her around the rink until Yakov has enough of their antics and sends them off to practice spins.

He is introduced to Viktor Nikiforov and Georgi Popovich later, the two skaters retaining their cool image for approximately thirty seconds. Then Georgi starts waxing poetry on his girlfriend Anya and Viktor breaks out his phone to show Yuri around two thousand pictures of his dog Makkachin. Yuri firmly re-classifies them as uncool old people who are way too interested in boring things like girls and dogs. They also dare to call him cute, which he punishes by lobbing his blade guards at them. His aim is slightly off and while he manages to brain Viktor with one, the other misses Georgi entirely and hits Yakov instead. Their coach does not take it well and Yuri spends the afternoon organising the rental skates.

The next morning Georgi brings him a mug of hot tea and he catches Viktor sliding some hideously expensive hand cream into his coat pockets. Mila offers to help him stretch. They are still annoying, Mila is too chipper, Georgi is just too loud and Viktor turns out to be moron who would forget his own head if it was not attached to his neck, but they don’t expect him to be this demure, quiet little boy and Yuri thinks that’s enough.

Yakov makes him work harder than he has ever done before. He criticises his form, his speed, his expression while he skates and he suggests that he only prepares with one, maximum two triple jumps for the upcoming competition. Yuri immediately demands to be taught the triple axel. Yakov nearly blows a vein and for a moment Yuri thinks he is going to tell him to pack up and leave, just like his previous coaches did when they realised that Yuri is going to be a difficult student. But Yakov just takes some deep breaths – later Yuri will realise that his coach has a whole set of breathing exercises devised just so that he could avoid strangling Viktor when he does something stupid – and tells him that he can learn the triple axel once he can land a triple loop with at least 90% certainty.

Yuri scoffs and jumps. He barely saves himself from faceplanting into the ice, hand thrust out to block the fall. He expects mockery from Yakov or Mila who is also on the ice, but none comes.

“Wow, you nearly did it! When I was twelve, I could not do anything harder than a triple salchow!” chirps Mila.

Yakov starts listing all the things that were wrong with the jump, but he also tells Yuri what should he do differently in the future. He does not mention the triple axel, but when he choreographs Yuri’s programs, the short program has three triples while the free has four, with the axel an alternative if he makes it to the Junior Grand Prix final.

He doesn’t, finishing third in Skate America and fourth in Cup of China, but it’s okay because while he doesn’t get a place in the final, he finds something (someone) else.

He finds Katsuki Yuuri.

 

* * *

 

It is not even five in the morning but Yuri just can’t sleep. It is his first Junior Grand Prix event and his first time in the US and he is more unnerved than he would like to admit. Dedushka offered to accompany him but his back was acting up again and a long-distance flight would have just made it worse so Yuri decided to make do with Yakov. He is the only Russian figure skater assigned to Skate America and he is loath to admit that the presence of his rink mates would be appreciated, even if in all likeliness it would end up with him yelling at them. He tosses and turns for an hour or so, but in the end, he gives up on sleep. They came earlier than necessary so he is only competing tomorrow, he can afford to be tired today.

Not wanting to disturb Yakov who is sharing the room with him on the basis that he is too young to stay on his own at twelve, he picks up his skates and training gear, deciding to head to the rink nearby where the competition is. The security lets him pass with minimum fuss and he looks forward to having the whole rink to himself. After all, who would be up in such an ungodly hour?

Except, there is someone already on the ice, skating compulsory figures. Yuri blinks. The other skater is older than him, clearly part of the senior division. He looks unassuming in his black training gear but he balances perfectly on his skates, turning without any scraping. He serpentines across the ice, serene in a way Yuri has only seen Viktor up until now. He stops, fiddles with the headphones in his ears then takes a deep breath and starts a routine.

If his figures were good, his step sequences are mesmerising. Every turn is sharp, well-defined and although there is no actual music, Yuri can nearly hear the strands as the other dances. He transitions into a Biellmann spin, keeping the position with an enviable ease then follows it with a triple axel. Some of his jumps are a bit shaky but his layback Ina Bauer again showcases his incredible flexibility. His expression remains serene, hopefulness reflected in every movement and Yuri is spellbound. He makes no move towards the ice and the only reason he moves at all is because his mobile starts buzzing in his pocket.

He scowls at the gadget but leaves the rink to take the call when he sees that it’s Dedushka calling. When he finishes Yakov comes to get him and they start practicing for tomorrow. He doesn’t see the other skater at practice, but the seniors won’t compete until the juniors are done so it makes sense that he would avoid the times when the ice is crowded. He is still slightly distracted but it ends up being more help than hinder, making him forget the pressure of the competition so Yakov does not mention it. He goes to bed feeling considerably calmer.

His free skate goes reasonably well. His TES are good, if not as great as some of his competitors who already bring triple axels, and his PCS are strong enough that he finishes second. Yakov is satisfied with his score and when he calls him (even though it is long past midnight in St. Petersburg), his Dedushka says he is proud of him too. Yuri vows to do better at the free skate and falls asleep easily.

He does well, but not better. He wins a bronze which the press fawns over and he hides his disappointment behind a blank look. Yakov sees right through it but for once he is saved from a lecture when a fellow coach strikes up conversation with the man. They are not meant to return to St. Petersburg for another three days so he has some time to wander around, even if Yakov sets a strict curfew, not wanting him to be out in a foreign country for too long. He goes to the rink whenever he can, but with the senior components coming up there are only a few opportunities to practice.

He finds out the mystery skater’s name: he is Katsuki Yuuri of Japan, twenty years old, competing in his second senior Grand Prix. He didn’t make it to the final last year, just as he didn’t do particularly well on the Worlds or the Four Continents either. He did well in junior competitions even though his coach was a ballerina and he is one of Japan’s top skaters. Yuri should have already been aware of him; after all, he has won a gold in junior Grand Prix, Worlds and Four Continents as well but up until now he couldn’t be bothered to keep up with his competitors. Looking at Katsuki’s old competition videos, he thinks he maybe should have.

His spins and steps are amazing and his PCS are good enough that they make up for his inconsistent jumps. Still, none of the footage – and Yuri covers a lot – comes close to what he has seen at the rink and Yuri is surprised to note that he is excited to see another skater compete. Katsuki will be the surprise of the season, he is certain of it. Yuri can’t wait.

He ends up being surprised all right, surprised by the mediocrity Katsuki presents during his short skate. Gone is the fluidity, his transitions are choppy and compared to his previous skate he might as well be a life-sized statue he is so wooden. His jumps are awful and he finishes at fourth place. Yuri is baffled. Where has the easy grace gone? Yes, his steps and spins were still better than most of his competitors’, but if he were to skate like he did when practicing, he would have finished first, no problem. And the worst of it all that neither he nor his coach seem surprised. As if it was normal for him to mess up so badly when he can clearly do better! Just what the hell is going on here?!

When in doubt, Yuri reacts as most people his age would: he turns to the Internet. A quick googling session has him find the Official Katsuki Yuuri Fan ClubTM’s web page, and while most of the content is in Japanese, he finds a thread that hosts some of Katsuki’s training footage. All of it old, nothing too exciting, but it clearly shows that this behaviour is indeed normal for the Japanese skater. His written English is not so good so he struggles a bit with reading the comments under the videos, but most of them seem to echo his confusion. Katsuki is clearly a great skater, why can’t he show it in competition?! The Internet does not seem to have an answer this time. He keeps looking up videos until Yakov shouts at him to go sleep.

The pattern continues with the free skate. Katsuki is better at this than at the short program but still, he ends up only with a bronze. Yuri is certain that if he skated like he does when he is alone he would be on the top of the podium. He feels like he was robbed from seeing something amazing. Katsuki seems content with his bronze which makes Yuri mad; he should be upset that he is not given gold instead of standing there with a polite smile on his face!

Yakov takes one look at him and forbids him from staying behind. Clearly he does not trust Yuri to not act on his rage and mortally offend someone. Yuri is offended, although in the privacy of his mind he admits that his coach might be right. Still, with his evening plans of yelling some sense into Katsuki disrupted he has more time to spend on the Internet googling the other skater. He will figure the other out, if that’s the last thing he does.

They return to St. Petersburg and life goes on. The Official Katsuki Yuuri Fan ClubTM gets an American Division, which means more English content but also, strangely, more hamster-themed wallpaper. Chulanont clearly has no taste; at least he could have used cats. Yuri’s English teachers notice his motivation with the language and assign him more materials. Usually he would throw a fit about being given more stuff to do that takes him away from the ice but in this case, he sees the merit of the exercises.

Mila nearly catches him when he is watching one of Katsuki’s recent videos but he manages to distract her by pointing out Georgi’s epic bed hair. He goes to China but misses the podium by two points, ending his first participation in the Junior Grand Prix. Katsuki finishes fourth in the Tropheé de France, not qualifying for the finals either. And while that would be disappointing, the real problem happens after the Tropheé de France. Because while Yuri is not assigned to the same location as the Japanese skater this time, someone else from the Russian figure skater team is.

Mila meets Katsuki when she literally runs into him in the stadium and she ruins everything.

 

* * *

 

Yuri is quite certain he is hallucinating. He has never hallucinated websites before but there is no other explanation for the web page that says Official Katsuki Yuuri Fan ClubTM (European Division), President: Mila Babicheva. He has clearly stayed at the rink for too long and is probably delirious at home. Or maybe he managed to get into Viktor’s not-so-secret stash of vodka and he is hilariously drunk. There is no way that Mila has gone and done that.

He finds her on her laptop, happily editing the wallpaper of the European Division’s site. There is a little purple notebook next to her that has **European Division** written on it with black sharpie that she occasionally consults.

She has gone and done that.

“What are you doing?!” he hisses.

The wallpaper has _kittens_ on it. While they are indeed the most superior of all animals, everyone knows Katsuki is a dog person!

“Hi, Yura,” chirps Mila. She changes the colour theme to a light green. _Everyone_ knows Katsuki prefers blue!

“What. Is. That.”

“Oh the site? It’s a fan site for Katsuki Yuuri! We met in France and he was so lovely and he is a friend of Sara! She mentioned that he is too shy to talk to his fans and that she wanted to create a site for his European fans but she was too busy so I offered to help! Doesn’t it look great?” Mila smiles, visibly pleased with herself.

The site asks for her password and she opens the notebook where she clearly stores it because sometimes she is as hopeless with technology as Yakov.

Yuri refrains from tossing her laptop out the window, but only barely. Of-fucking-course it has something to do with Sara Crispino. Mila’s crush on the nineteen-year-old is roughly the size of the Moon. It is well-known that Crispino likes to create fan pages for her competitors; she is the admin behind the European sites for Giacometti and Lee. Of course she would notice Katsuki and would want to help his fans connect to the skater. Of course she could not wait until Yuri has gone through the stack of coding-for-dummies books he started hoarding in his room. Of-fucking-course not.

“Yura?”

And now he has been staring at the screen like a moron, and Mila is starting to look worried.

“Katsuki tends to wear blue when he is skating, maybe change the theme?” he mumbles, looking as disinterested as he could. He fools exactly no-one.

“Oooh, I didn’t know you were a fan! Do you want to help me out?” Mila grins.

“I am NOT a fan! I just saw him at Skate America, that’s it!” Yuri denies.

“Uh-huh”

“I am NOT!”

Yuri is not stupid; he knows that Mila is riling him up on purpose. But his slight obsession with all things Katsuki was one of the very few things in his life he did only for himself and there is no way he will allow the hag to take it away!

The laptop must die.

It is probably divine intervention that Yakov happens on them just before Yuri pounces for the laptop. He sends them off to warm up and the laptop lives.

So does the European Division’s site. Mila refuses to change the colour scheme but even with the gross misrepresentation of their idol’s likes, the site generates generous traffic. Yakov is not exactly happy with his student’s new hobby but allows it to continue as long as Mila does not post any of her personal information. Gosha and Vitya are busy preparing for the Grand Prix final so they miss the conflict and its resolution. Yuri is man enough to admit that he is relieved; he can stand Mila’s teasing but God forbid the two older skaters get wind of his slight crush on Katsuki. They might tell the other skater and then Yuri would have to kill them both and then probably jump into the Neva.

Yuri can’t say that all is well but he is dealing with it. He is loath to admit it but Mila has a consistent updating schedule and European Division’s site is soon on par with the other official sites. The fans love it and Yuri must admit, it is a relief reading English without the weird American slang Chulanont seem to have picked up in the States.

Vitya wins the Grand Prix, to the surprise of absolutely no-one. Gosha is kicked off the podium by Giacometti but he finishes second at the Europeans with the Swiss skater third so he is happy to prepare for the Worlds. Vitya wins gold. Obviously. Katsuki gets silver at the Four Continents.

The JSF prints a new set of posters of him and Mila uses her fan club connections to get some that have been autographed; apparently, some reporter called Morooka cornered Katsuki with them. She gifts one to Yuri but it wouldn’t be Mila if she could refrain from teasing him so he still ends up chasing her around the rink, yelling obscenities. The poster goes into a special binder to avoid damage.

Yuri spends his thirteenth birthday visiting Mama in Moscow with Dedushka, having been chased off the ice by Yakov. He is too young to compete in the Junior Worlds and his coach has his hands full with his rink mates. It does not help that Yakov caught him attempting the triple axel without supervision either. Alexei Mikhailovich, the doctor, is also there and Yuri realises that he has moved in with Mama. He talks about football and he ruffles Yuri’s hair but he is respectful towards Dedushka and Mama seems a lot happier around him so Yuri behaves too. It hurts, a little, how much happier Mama looks but Yuri still has Dedushka and that’s enough. When they decide that it is time for them to go, Yuri feels lighter; he can’t wait to be back on the ice.

On the way back to St. Petersburg, they stop at an animal shelter and Yuri gets to pick a cat to take home which makes this his best birthday ever! He chooses a black and white one that starts purring the moment he picks him up and names him Potya. When they get back home Dedushka makes pirozhki and he watches the Junior Worlds with Potya in his lap and Dedushka snoozing in the armchair next to his. He feels content.

Mila wins her first gold at the Junior Worlds. Vitya wins gold (again), Giacometti is second and Cao Bin gets bronze. Gosha is fourth but as there is only 2 points difference between him and Cao Bin, Yuri does not think he will be too upset. Katsuki ends up on the sixth place after botching a quad toe loop. The commentators say it’s an accomplishment that he qualified for the free skate at all and Yuri has to stop himself from yelling at them on twitter. Not all of the Katsuki fans are so restrained so the message gets across in the end. Serves them right, pompous assholes.

They start training for the next season after taking some time off for vacations. Yakov grudgingly allows him to start practicing the triple axel with moderation which of course means Yuri practices until he feels like his feet might fall off. Mila laughs herself hoarse when Yakov finds it out and subsequently explodes at Yuri. Vitya records the whole thing on video and declares that it will fit well in his archive of Yakovsplosions. Yakov’s ire is quickly redirected to the other skater and he ends up making them all run laps around the rink as punishment, except Gosha because he is a damn teacher’s pet.

Yuri would say life is good but that would mean he would have to admit that he appreciates his rink mates’ presence and that’s not going to happen. So. Life is not horrible.

Then Mila meets the Hockey Playing Asshole and everything is shot to Hell again.

 

* * *

 

They are a bit slow to notice that Mila spends an increasing amount on her phone. To be fair they all have new routines to learn and then Gosha decides that he is going to grow a stubble because Anya said it was sexy and they need to stop him because his face is not suitable for that. At all. So it takes them a few weeks to realise that Mila is on her phone but instead of doing her normal activities – that is, texting Sara Crispino or updating the European Division website – she spends most of her time sending kissy emojis to the HPA.

She tells them they met while Mila was on holiday with her family and connected over their relationship with the ice. He is Canadian, seventeen and Mila declares him to be perfect. Yuri looks him up; he has messy brown hair and blue eyes and his face makes Seung-Gil Lee look like a charming, happy fellow. His Instagram is full of hockey and gym pictures and he doesn’t seem to understand how hashtags work. He seems like an utter bore.

He visits Mila a few months later and he is quickly downgraded to asshole when he comes over to the rink and then spends over an hour explaining why exactly is hockey a more superior sport. Yuri wants dropkick him with his skates on, especially when he dares to call him squirt. Gosha holds him back while Vitya cheerfully discusses that it’s a good thing that HPA chose hockey as he clearly has no graceful bone in his bulky body. He doesn’t come back to the rink after that and Mila refuses to talk to any of them for two weeks, even though HPA only stays for ten days. Yakov wisely decides that he does not want to know.

Mila’s abysmal taste in men notwithstanding (Yuri does not understand how can she like both HPA and Katsuki. It does not compute.), life goes on and for a while he thinks everything will be fine. He is confident in his routines and starts toying with the idea of learning some quads. He does not mention it to Yakov, of course, as the older man have started nattering about making sure that he does not stress his system too much in case his growth spurt comes early. Yuri dreads the idea of growing taller, having witnessed the tail end of Mila’s growth spurt when he first contracted with Yakov. He is happy to stay short if it means he does not have to relearn how his limbs work.

Then Katsuki does an ice show in the US and it takes two weeks for it to be up on the European Division’s site. Chulanont posts it on the day after the show and it is up on the Japanese site in three days. There is an interview too but again, Yuri finds it out from the other Division sites, even though it took place right after the ice show. Then there is the sponsorship deal with Mizuno, which is not posted at all until he aggressively spams the ask box with anonymous messages. He wants to yell at Mila in person but Mila starts leaving the rink right after practice and Yuri is not an idiot to complain about it in front of Vitya and Gosha. The longer those two stay in the dark about his slight obsession with the Japanese skater is the better.

He grumbles about the flightiness of his rink mate but all he gets from Vitya and Gosha is condescending pats on his head and “You will understand it when you are older, Yura.” and “Oh, young love!” and he just wants to strangle both. Yakov doesn’t care as long as Mila does not slack off practice, especially since there is a sizeable distance between the two of them that prevents any underage fooling around. Gosha mentions that he has some friends in Canada and they put the fear of God into HPA to ensure Skype is used in the most innocent manner. Yuri is unsure what other manners are there but Vitya and Gosha both look very satisfied with themselves.

HPA goes to a training camp or whatever and apparently, they take it seriously in Canada because they are not allowed their phones. Mila takes to sighing morosely at her phone but that is a lot less annoying than her previous squealing so the quality of their day improves significantly. Gosha starts inviting her for coffee so that they can gush over their beloveds while drinking overpriced caffeinated beverages. While this is probably draining on their finances, the ambience of the rink is further improved. It is almost back to normal. Yuri realises later that it was clearly too good to be true.

It starts in the forums. Mila tends to maintain a good discipline, no bullying, no unrelated comments, and she is good at weeding out the bots. That’s why Yuri first thinks that her account got hacked when he sees her comment under the thread of the Mizuno ads:

_Yes, Mizuno tops suit him so well! They make amazing hockey jerseys as well, and their knee pads are one of the best on the market!_

She does not stop here. As the days go on, the hockey-related comments multiply in front of Yuri’s horrified eyes. It gets to the point that the fans notice, but when someone mentions it in the chat, Mila does not to apologise and take all the hockey crap down but starts gushing about HPA and how great hockey is. The fans are confused. Yuri is livid.

Is nothing sacred anymore?!

It peaks when he sees her laptop open, with the Division site pulled up in admin mode. There is a new subset that Yuri has never seen before and he has no intention of stopping himself from looking. If Mila has wanted to keep it a secret, she should have locked her laptop. What he sees makes his blood boil.

“Baba, what the fuck is this?!” he yells when his rink mate steps back into the room.

“Yura, isn’t it a great idea?” chirps Mila who clearly does not grasp that this is a terrible, terrible idea because she is a moron.

“This is a figure skater’s fan site! A FIGURE SKATER’S! Why do you have HOCKEY training tips on a FIGURE SKATER’S fan site?!”

“Their training methods are so interesting! And it doesn’t hurt to promote other ice-related sports as well! Sara talks about skiing on Chris’s fan site!”

“BECAUSE GIACOMETTI ACTUALLY FUCKING SKIS! UNLIKE KATSUKI WHO DOES NOT PLAY HOCKEY!”

“Stop nitpicking about everything, Yura, it’s not like you could do better!” Mila shrugs, getting annoyed.

Yuri would like to say that he reacts to the challenge like a mature adult and after a calm discussion they decide that he would make a better admin. But he is not an adult – as everyone keeps reminding him – and Mila has always been unfairly good at winding him up so the next few minutes cannot in any way be described by the words ‘calm’ and ‘discussion’. Yakov calls it a behaviour unbefitting of professional athletes when he separates them and sends them off to do laps around the rink as punishment. Vitya and Gosha give them a wide breadth for the next few days and Yuri knows that Mila will take her revenge eventually but he ignores them all for now. After all, what they all forget is that Yuri can be incredibly dedicated to his aims. And if his aim was to get the one little purple notebook that Mila always carries with her? Then you can bet money that he has used the excuse of the brawl to cleverly pickpocket his rink mate.

He feels like death after the numerous laps but when Yakov kicks them out he all but sprints home. It feels like his laptop has never booted up so slowly but when he opens the little purple notebook with **European Division** written on it, types in the admin password and it works, he feels like it was all worth it. He spends the next few minutes laughing manically, loud enough that Dedushka comes in to ask if he is okay. He changes the passwords, the colour scheme and the wallpaper. It turns out that it has been long enough that he cannot delete any of Mila’s hockey-related comments, but deleting the hockey-training subset is satisfying enough. He finds the e-mail of the Asian Division’s president and fires off a message letting her know about the change in management. In hindsight, he is not the most polite but he finds the draft of the monthly newsletter and half of it is hockey-related and his considerable frustration with his rink mate shows in his email. A little.

Later, Mila will find out his exact wording and give him so much hell for calling her a loser and an offence to skating – which is a title he will transfer to JJ after he hears ‘It’s JJ Style!’ the first time. But for now, she strangely does not contest his coup, even when Yuri sneaks the notebook back into her locker. If anything, she looks oddly smug, but Yuri figures it is a girl thing and decides it’s better if he does not ask. He has what he wants.

 

* * *

 

Yuri’s thirteenth year goes smoothly. He competes in and wins both the Junior Grand Prix and the Junior Worlds. He makes a deal with Vitya: if he can win his next Grand Prix without quads, Vitya will choreograph his senior debut. Mila debuts in senior level with a bronze at the Grand Prix and the Europeans but misses the podium in the Worlds. Vitya wins gold at everything as usual and Gosha gets a silver at the Europeans and bronze at the Grand Prix but Anya breaks up with him before the Worlds which messes him up enough that he ends up tenth. Katsuki does not get to the Grand Prix final with two bronzes in the qualifiers but wins Four Continents and finishes fourth in Worlds.

He does a few more ice shows and based on the copious amount of training footage available, Yuri expects to see him more on the podium next year. He can’t wait to compete in the same level as the older skater, and makes sure that his step sequences for his last year at junior level are the best they have ever been. Yakov still says he does not practice enough but what does the old geezer know? Yuri will win everything at junior level (again) and then he will meet (and defeat) Katsuki in senior competition when the other skater is at his best as well. It is going to be perfect.

It is a disaster.

Katsuki does well in the Grand Prix qualifiers: he gets two silvers, not bad considering that he had Cao Bin as a competitor in Skate America and Giacometti in China. Yuri is excited to see the other skater perform, even more so after he wins the Junior Grand Prix with a personal best. He imagines walking up to the other skater, nonchalantly congratulating him on his performance, and maybe exchanging SNS handles. After all, if Giacometti has managed somehow, surely he can do it too? It would be nice if he didn’t have to keep stalking Chulanont for updates, Vitya has caught him a few times, and knowing him, he probably arrived to some hideously wrong conclusion.

Yes, he can do this. It will be a breeze.

It is not a breeze.

Katsuki’s short program is a disaster; he flubs his jumps and his triples become doubles, his steps are his only saving grace. Yuri does not understand what the hell is happening but he is sure it can’t get any worse. He is wrong. If the short program is a disaster, the free skate is Armageddon itself. Katsuki flubs every single jump and he seems to have forgotten how to stay on his skates. His falls look painful, but what makes it worse is that every single movement of his screams resignation. Given that his theme this year is perseverance, this does not help his PCS. He finishes last, over a hundred points below Vitya (who wins again, of course), and when Yuri sees him hide his face when his score is announced, he sees red.

Who is this person, and what has he done with Katsuki?! Katsuki never gives up, even when he messes up jumps that should be in his skillset! He keeps skating, and skates beautifully enough that his fans choose him over other, more successful skaters! That _Yuri_ has chosen him over other, more successful skaters! Yuri can’t equate the skater whose steps he fell in love with to this miserable heap of bones. He feels like he might explode if he remains in the audience any longer, but Sochi winters are not the best for a break outside so h contends with roaming the corridors of the stadium. He sees a door and barges in.

It’s an unused men’s bathroom. Except it is not unused, because he hears muffled crying, and Japanese. It’s Katsuki. And Yuri will hate himself later when he reads the email pileup from the Division’s website and sees the message about the death of Katsuki’s dog. And he will try apologising at the banquet but Katsuki will be so smashed, challenging him to a dance off and he will not be able to resist it (the glass of champagne chugged in secret will not help). He will plan on apologising at the Worlds instead but Katsuki will not go to Worlds and it will be too late to say anything when he goes to Hasetsu. But for now, he yells at the other skater, telling him to retire if this is all he knows. He does not say that this does disservice to his skating prior to this, certain that Katsuki knows what he means, after all, no-one can have that little faith in himself? Only Katsuki can and he does, and when Yuuko takes him aside in Hasetsu and explains just how anxiety affects the other skater, Yuri will feel like an even bigger idiot.

He yells at Katsuki and only sees the other in passing until the banquet. The banquet where he is beaten in dance battle even though the Japanese drank enough champagne to knock out an elephant. Where Katsuki then proceeds to deliver a pole dancing routine with Giacometti that literally makes people drool. Where he then dances a paso doble with Vitya who has stars in his eyes the entire time. Where Katsuki drunkenly asks the reigning five-time Grand Prix champion to be his coach… and said five-time Grand Prix champion does not refuse him! All in all, Yuri thinks he can be forgiven if he only remembers his plan to apologise when he is back at the rink in St. Petersburg. He would like to see anyone keep a level head with the performance Katsuki showed to them.

His plans to apologise are ruined again when Katsuki messes up the Japanese Nationals and therefore does not go to Worlds. Chulanont disappears for a week but floods his Instagram with road trip photos when he returns and while otherwise Yuri would enjoy seeing Katsuki in other settings, this stinks of a goodbye. He is proven right when the American Division site announces Katsuki’s decision to part ways with Cialdini. Katsuki goes back to Japan where he seems to do his best to fade into obscurity. The Asian Division’s site remains free of updates as well. Yuri emails Okino, the president, but he does not receive a response before he is off to his last Junior Worlds.

Then the video of Katsuki skating to Stammi Vicino goes online and he does not need one.

 

* * *

 

Vitya, the dramatic asshole he is, flies to Japan without telling anyone but Yakov. He also goes on an Instagram blackout for a few days, which means that until he takes a selfie in front of Hasetsu Castle, Yuri is not certain enough about his whereabouts to book his own ticket. His reluctance also might stem from the fact that he is still embarrassed about the way he yelled at Katsuki. Maybe. But once he knows Vitya is with the Japanese skater, there is nothing that will stop him from going. Dedushka believes him when he tells him that he is going there to train with Vitya and it has been years since Mama questioned anything to do with skating. Yakov is livid, of course, but he does not realise Yuri has left until he is in Japan so there is nothing he can do about it.

He is directed to the ice rink where he sees the Japanese skater again. Katsuki does not seem to notice him at all, he is too happy about starting to skate with Vitya, and Yuri loses it again. He will cringe at his behaviour (again), but it has been a long flight and train journey and seeing the other skater so comfortable with the idea of training with Vitya does things to his blood pressure. He might also be in need of an anger management class. Or twenty.

Vitya has, of course, forgotten all about his promise. Asshole. He then dares to set up a competition between Yuri and Katsuki, as if that’s the right response to forgetting his promises! Katsuki looks terrified but the resignation from the Grand Prix is missing. Yuri will win, he cannot afford to lose, but he thinks the other might even present a decent competition. Vitya tells them that he will reveal their pieces in a week. They return to Katsuki’s place.

Katsudon one of the best things on Earth and now Yuri understands why does it merit a mention as Katsuki’s favourite. He is less enthusiastic about his new nickname, especially since Vitya takes to it immediately. He reacts even less favourably to Vitya’s theme assignment, but it is somewhat reassuring that Katsuki is similarly upset. They start training.

He does not realise that the woman at the rink is the same Yuuko from the Asian Division until she thanks him for his hard work on the European Division’s website. Luckily neither Vitya nor Katsudon hear her and she promises not to tell. He finds the nickname fits the other skater, especially after he declares the dish to be his Eros. Vitya smiles but Yuri has known him for long enough to see the double take it hides. Katsudon as his Eros, Yuri’s ass. What happened to the pole dancing, the paso doble and the (gross) grinding?! Why can’t Yuri have an idol that is not touched in the head?!

Touched in the head or not, he wipes the rink with Yuri. He does not stay to hear the results, the other skater clearly won. He will need to find someone to choreograph his free skate. He says goodbye to Yuuko and leaves on the first plane to St. Petersburg. He calls Yakov and after his coach finished yelling he tells him that he will be at the rink in two days’ time; his jet lag should be manageable by then. He can tell his coach is surprised; usually Yuri needs to be dragged to the rink after a long-haul flight. Yuri knows, however, that he will need to bring his strongest game if he wants to beat Katsudon.

And he will beat him.

 

* * *

 

They are all surprised by his dedication to training. Mila teases him, but she has not seen just how relentlessly Katsudon trains, just how much more stamina the other skater has compared to Yuri. Yuri has seen it, and he knows that by the time the Grand Prix comes around, Vitya will use that stamina and dedication to make Katsudon unstoppable. The other is clearly capable of it, and if he wants to beat his idol, he needs to up the game. Lilia Baranovskaya tells him that he needs to sell his soul to win. As if that would scare him, as if he has not been giving all of himself to this sport up until now. Later, when he will feel like dying at the end of the Grand Prix final free skate, he will realise just how little has he given up until then. But he is still conceited enough that he thinks he did enough, gave enough as it is. He takes Lilia up on her offer.

He does not see Katsudon until Rostelecom Cup, but it does not mean he is not aware of everything that is happening with the other skater. He has a duty to the European Division, after all. Yuuko becomes his first informant, and if she does not tell him something, he is likely to find it out from her daughters’ Instagram. There are a few moments where Yuri thinks Mila might try to take the European Division back to deal with her break-up with HPA but the other skater’s attention is quickly taken up by the messages Sara Crispino sends her. Yuri keeps the admin position and continues to update the site. He notices the name Victuuri in the forums, and for a while he is tempted to fly back to Japan just so that he can punch Vitya in his stupid face. But in the end the general consensus is that the older skater cannot be blamed for his crush; after all, he would not be the first one to fall for Katsudon. He seems to be the one falling the hardest, though.

It is not a joke; Vitya’s crush seems to grow exponentially as time passes. Yuri would like to say he is surprised by the kiss during the Cup of China but he knows his rink mate; it is exactly the kind of grand gesture that Vitya just cannot stop himself from doing. Katsudon seems to be happy with it, which in Yuri’s opinion shows that he, like Mila, has terrible taste in men. Still, his skating is improving, which means that Yuri can’t help but look forward to Rostelecom Cup. He will defeat the other skater, he is sure of it, but it will be a competition worth his time. Everything will go fine this time.

Nothing goes fine.

First Dedushka cannot make it to short program then Katsudon goes and skates a perfect program. Then they cheer him on, as if he needed it, as if he couldn’t do it on his own, like how he always did it before! Yuri starts his short skate angry and it shows; he falls and he finishes under Katsudon. Then that obnoxious asshole JJ goes and finishes first! By the time he is done with the reporters, Yuri just wants the whole day to be over.

Then the call comes that Makkachin might die. Yuri knows about Katsudon’s poodle now, so he is not surprised when the Japanese skater sends Vitya back to Hasetsu to be with Makkachin. He also knows Vitya so he is not surprised when he asks Yakov to coach Katsudon for a day. He thinks he knows just how much Katsudon is affected by anxiety but he is wrong; the other skater does not talk to Yakov – or anyone – at all, keeping to himself before the free skate starts. But Yuri also underestimates the perseverance of the other skater; he watches as Katsudon picks himself up and fights to get into the Final.

He runs away from the other skater when he goes all zombie-like and tries to hug everyone. He can’t help it; the vacant eyes creep him out! Then Dedushka’s pirozhki save the day. Yuri pretends that they are early birthday presents for Katsudon. He ordered a little poodle keyring online but the post being unreliable as it is, it is still being delivered. The other skater seems happy with the pirozhki as they are though, so Yuri is not too disappointed. He decides to sneak the keyring into the other’s luggage at the final and leaves it at that.

Katsudon goes back to Japan and Yuri returns to training. He needs to be ready for the final.

He breaks Vitya’s short program record. Katsudon breaks his free skate record. Vitya announces that he is coming back and Yuri wants to shake him when he says that he does not know if Katsudon will retire or not. Yuri nearly breaks his body during the free program, but he beats the other. He hopes that this will be enough; Katsudon was going for the gold, right? So if he does not get it, he will continue until he reaches that aim, right? His stubbornness will not let him quit, right?! Right?!

Yuri thinks Yakov might get an aneurysm when Vitya declares that he will not only come back to compete but will also continue to coach Katsudon. It is unheard of. It is ridiculous. Yuri looks at the two idiots and agrees with Yakov wholeheartedly.

He also thinks that the next season will be the best yet.

 

* * *

 

There is no repeat of last year’s banquet. Several people are very disappointed by this, Chulanont being the most vocal as he missed the original performance. Katsudon remains stubbornly sober throughout the entire night. This does not stop him from dancing with Vitya, but their style remains appropriate for all viewing groups. They stay fully clothed as well.

Yuri spends most of the evening talking to Beka, occasionally shouting abuse at Katsudon and Vitya and generally having a decent time. He will later realise that the evening was clearly going too well for it to remain that way.

“Yuuri, congratulations for the silver!” Mila hugs Katsudon, who promptly blushes and stutters out a thank you.

Vitya looks on, amused. Yuri finds it quite funny at first, but then Mila’s eyes find his and he feels himself pale.

“I am sure all your fans are really proud of you!” she chirps, “And with two of your Division presidents here, I am sure they are getting all the updates they need!”

“Oh I am not that much of a dea…” Katsudon starts, but he stops when he digests the entirety of Mila’s sentence, “Two?”

Yuri needs to get the fuck out of here. He starts inching towards the exit but he forgets just how strong Mila is.

“Of course, Yura here has been the president of your European Division for years now!” Mila smiles, as if her hand was not cutting the circulation off Yuri’s wrist.

Katsudon blinks.

Yuri wants the ground to open and swallow him, please, right now.

Vitya, the asshole, of course must add his own two cents.

“Oh, Yurio! That’s wonderful, then you can help me! I still can’t write to the forums even though I am clearly Yuuri’s number one fan!”

Katsudon’s face grows so red it can’t be healthy. Yuri feels his own heat as well. Chulanont – the asshole – takes a picture of them that will be on Instagram in five minutes, Yuri knows. And to make it worse, half the room hones in on Yuri, nearly mobbing him for details, as if none of them could read a fucking website description. The banquet turns into a carnage of a very different type.

Beka saves him.

Unfortunately, he can’t save him from Vitya’s constant spamming. As if he was going to go against the rule of President Okino on probationary periods! To be perfectly honest, he might if this was someone else than Vitya, but he already got Katsudon, he should have to fight for something in his life! Also, the Japanese guy who holds the title Official Number One Fan – there was a competition and everything – is an unstable little midget and Yuri does not want to be his first victim when he inevitably goes full-on serial killer on them. After a few whiny texts, he discerns that Chulanont – who does indeed post the picture on Instagram – is clearly also holding up against his rink mate. Good.

Still, having to listen to Vitya whine is exhausting, therefore Yuri feels like he is justified in stealing his Gucci sunglasses that cost more than some people’s cars for his exhibition skate. They come useful when he has a slight problem with his eyeshadow application. Well, his problem is not necessarily his eyeshadow but that he asks Gosha to put it on and Gosha is still in the throes of heartbreak. And that means that he interprets a request for a nice smoky eye as permission to turn Yuri into a panda. So yeah, the sunglasses come useful.

Yuri ends up nailing Vitya in the forehead with them mid-skate when the other won’t stop wailing about his precious sunglasses, but it looks badass and the crowd loves it so he is not too fussed. When he finishes, Beka steps next to him, ready to weather the storm that is surely coming. Yakov looks like he might blow his lid, nattering about age-appropriate skating and clothes that have enough material in them, as if Yuri’s short program costume was not half netting. Lilia tells him to shut up; she criticises his arm positions but tells him that his flexibility is now decent for a dancer. Vitya keeps moaning about how his forehead hurts and how his sunglasses are crooked while Katsudon seems to be mortified in Yuri’s stead. Mila and Chulanont seem to have documented the whole thing, while Gosha brags about his prowess in make-up, as if that was one of his marketable skills. They all nag but they accept it. They accept _him_.

The crowd keeps chanting his name, and for the first time, he feels like he managed to show a bit of himself in his performance. Granted, the ISU officials probably won’t appreciate it at all and his sponsors might not like his changing image, but for the first time he feels like he can afford not to care. Dedushka will understand; Yuri has heard the stories from when he was a teenager, he might not be completely happy, but he will understand. He can afford to lose a few sponsors; there will be others instead. After all, his time in the senior division is just beginning.

Yuri looks around and grins.

He can’t wait.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ###### School system in Russia
> 
> **Primary school:** for children aged 6-10.  
>  **Senior school:** for children aged 10-15.  
>  **Non-compulsory senior school:** for children aged 15-17 who wish to go on to higher education.  
> 
> 
> ###### Compulsory figures
> 
> **Definiton:** patterns or figures carved into the ice that derived from the basic figure eight.  
>  **Judging criteria:** shape and size of circles/loops, execution on true edges without scraping.  
> 
> 
> ###### Rivers of St. Petersburg
> 
> **Neva:** the only river flowing from Lake Ladoga. It flows through the city of Saint Petersburg, three smaller towns of Shlisselburg, Kirovsk and Otradnoye, and dozens of settlements.  
> 
> 
> ###### Age requirements for competitions
> 
> **Junior Worlds:** skaters must be at least 13 years old but not yet 19 before the previous 1 July, except for men competing in pair skating and ice dancing where the age maximum is 21.  
>  **Europeans:** skaters must be at least 15 years old before July 1 the previous year.  
> 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Viktor finds love, learns to live and burns a tie to appease the gods of fashion. He also realises that once you get onto the shit-list of the Official Katsuki Yuuri Fan ClubTM, it is awfully difficult getting back into their good graces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, it has been nearly two months, I am sorry! *hides*  
> But I had deadlines and exams and internship applications and friends visiting and time just ran away from me! But I am done with exams (yay!), I have started my internship (yay?) and I offer you 12k words of Viktor's POV as an apology for my tardiness.  
> Betaed by the lovely [WarriorNun ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/WarriorNun/pseuds/WarriorNun) :)  
> Anyway, on with the story!

#### 4\. Viktor Nikiforov, Katsuki Yuuri’s (Self-Declared) Number One Fan, Probationary Member of The Official Katsuki Yuuri Fan ClubTM

Viktor expects the Sochi Grand Prix to follow the usual script of competitions; he will go, win, smile at the press and avoid their intrusive questions, take some pictures with fans, skate his exhibition piece, nurse a single glass of champagne during the banquet and spend the night cuddling Makkachin. Then the next day he will have late brunch with Chris, get on the train to St Petersburg with the rest of the team and spend the travel time planning his programs for the following year.  

He ends up being only somewhat correct.

He wins, by a quite large margin. Chris stands on his right and the young Canadian, Jean-Jacques is on his left, but the points show that the only real competition Viktor had today was his own scores from last year. He smiles for the camera and makes sure to congratulate his competitors, but even with the crowd chanting his name, he can only think of the welcoming quiet of his hotel room where Makkachin waits for him. The rest of the day passes in a daze. The reporters make remarks about potential retirement just as they have been doing for the past year or so. He should refute them with enthusiasm, but it feels too much of an effort. He will do it at the next conference… or maybe he won’t, maybe he will just announce retirement, just as how everyone and their mother seems to want him to. The final surprise of him doing what people expect of him for once.

It is all so exhausting.

He listens to Yakov blow up at Yura but this time it isn’t enough to break him free from his thoughts. He feels eyes on him and he turns. A young man with messy black hair and chunky glasses is staring at him. He seems vaguely familiar but Viktor is just too tired to dig through his memory to check where from; he is probably just a fan he has seen often. And he tries to do his best by his fans so he forces himself to smile.

“A commemorative photo? Sure,” he smiles, but instead of breaking into an excited smile, the other just blanches and turns away.

Viktor is confused at first, but then he hears the reporter call the young man Katsuki-kun and then he wants to kick himself. That was Katsuki Yuuri. Viktor managed to mistake one of the finalists for a run-in-the-mill fan. _Great._ In his defence, they have never been officially introduced to each other and Katsuki looks quite different from his persona on the ice with his hunched posture, messy hair and glasses. But at the same time, he was also wearing a competitor’s pass, so really, Viktor should have paid more attention to his surroundings. His only saving grace is that no-one apart from Katsuki and the reporter has seen his blunder and neither makes a big deal out of it.

He will make sure to engage the other in some small talk at the banquet and maybe smuggle in an apology. He recalls the abysmal performance of the Japanese skater and he is sure that Katsuki will appreciate some form of cheering up during the stuffy event. Chris has mentioned the other skater before so he will doubtlessly join in as well. It will help to make the evening more bearable, that’s for sure.

He is not wrong, but more bearable is not how he would describe the evening later. Life-changing or world-shattering are much better words.

He does not get to talk to Katsuki when the other skater walks in with Cialdini as he is busy listening to some of his sponsors sing praises about his skating. He loses track of the other for an hour or so, and does not see him until he stumbles up to them with a bottle of champagne in his hand, challenging Yura to a dance off. He can’t take his eyes off the other man after that. Katsuki moves like he is one with the music and his flexibility is enviable, especially if you consider just how smashed he is. He wins the dance-off, hands down, and Viktor is about to go up to the other to congratulate the Japanese skater – and maybe to ask for his number because _damn_ , can he move – when Chris saunters up to Katsuki and challenges him to show his skills… on the pole.

Because apparently Katsuki knows how to pole dance. Viktor watches as the Japanese strips enthusiastically with Chris and then mounts the pole that surely wasn’t there when the event started. He suspects it is Chris’s doing, but as the two skaters proceed with a routine that makes everyone drool he can only be thankful for his friend’s lack of shame. Katsuki drags him to dance with a smouldering look and Viktor feels drunk, even though he only had a glass of champagne. Pole dancing and hip hop are not the only dances in Yuuri’s repertoire – Viktor refuses to call someone who has dipped him by their last name – and the demonstration of the other skater’s flexibility and versatility leaves Viktor breathless. Then Yuuri tops it by asking him to be his coach and Viktor feels something light up within him, created by the sweaty mess that is the Japanese skater.

He does not want this moment to end.

But end it must, especially when the organisers start making noise about ending the banquet. Mila and Yura head up to their rooms; Gosha saw Anya dancing with another man earlier and flounced off in a huff. He and Chris help Yuuri back into his clothes; Viktor subtly pushes Chris’s wandering hands away from Yuuri’s butt. He then spends their track up to their rooms reminding himself just how out of it the other skater is and how he should keep a respectable distance, even if Yuuri keeps hugging him and muttering in his ear in Japanese. He feels like he should get another gold medal for succeeding.

He puts Yuuri to bed and stumbles to his own room. Makkachin greets him happily and he cuddles up to his dog. Tomorrow – or later today to be more exact – he is going to invite Yuuri out to have brunch with them. He is going to introduce the Japanese to Makkachin and ask for his phone number. They will spend the time Yuuri has before his flight together – and he will have time, all the ones to Japan are in the late afternoon, Viktor has checked – and Viktor will get to know the person behind those amazing movements. It will be perfect.

By the time Viktor puts himself together enough to make it to the other’s room, Yuuri has checked out. He goes down to the reception but they inform him at the front desk that the Japanese skater has left with Cialdini in the early morning hours to catch their flight. Viktor is confused, but after a much needed cup of coffee he finally recalls that the Japanese skater trains with Cialdini in the US along with Phichit Chulanont, the Thai skater Yura obsessively follows on Instagram. He spends the morning in a considerably worse mood. Chris laughs at him, because he is inconsiderate like that.

Still, there is still the Worlds. Surely he will see Yuuri then? He can wait.

Yuuri does not make it to the Worlds. His performance at the Japanese nationals is worse than the GPF, bad enough that people start to wonder whether he injured himself. Viktor has seen his previous performances when he was looking up his competition for the GPF, and while Yuuri always skates like he is afraid to let go completely, with this hidden hesitation that stops him from jumping high enough or from taking risks he has the talent to take, he is never this fragmented. Viktor also remembers the fluidity of his moves from the banquet, directly after the disaster that was the final and he is even more baffled. How can the Yuuri at the final and the Yuuri at the banquet be the same person? What is holding the skater back from showing them that immense talent on the ice? Viktor does not understand it.

He is also maybe a tiny bit upset that the other has not tried to contact him. He had looked up the other skater but his social media handles seem to be as good as abandoned; Viktor is uncertain if he even has his messages enabled. And if he wants to be honest, he wants the other to reach out first, to make sure their time at the banquet was more than just a drunken fumble. That Yuuri wants him when he is sober as well, not just when he is drunk off his ass. His SNS is quite public so the other should be able to reach him with ease; Chris has also promised to share his number if Yuuri asks, so he only needs to reach out a little and Viktor is ready to meet him halfway.

Yuuri does not reach out.

The Worlds approaches and he does not hear from the other. At first Viktor thinks that maybe he is too busy with his exams, as a quick search on the Internet tells him that the other man is close to completing his Master’s degree. But then the news comes out that Yuuri is moving back to Japan, which means he must have finished his degree. And the Worlds is in Tokyo this year, therefore if he wanted to see Viktor he would only need to message him and they could meet during the time Viktor is in the Japanese capital. Viktor would be happy to go to places that are not frequented by skaters or the press to take Yuuri’s mind off his lack of participation in the competition, as long as they get to spend some time together.

But Yuuri does not call.

Viktor is confused and a bit hurt, but he is also stubborn and he knows that unlike Yuuri, Phichit has made it to Worlds. And as he remembers the Thai skater as a friendly person from the GPF qualifiers, he is sure he will be able to casually enquire about his ex-rink-mate. The Internet, including his Fan Pages, paints Yuuri as this shy little thing, lacking confidence to interact with fans or other skaters, a notion Viktor finds ridiculous. But he is starting to see a pattern – see: banquet versus competition Yuuri – and he realises that maybe he will need to work more to reach the other man. Case in point, Phichit Chulanont.

His plan, while easy in theory, ends up being pretty much impossible to execute. He meets up with Chris a day before the competition and he sees Phichit as well, but the other skater’s usually bouncy personality seems subdued. It does not take a genius to guess that the cause is the missing Japanese skater, and while Viktor is a blunt person, he is not cruel. He decides to bring Yuuri up at a later date, maybe after the competition when they will likely be dragged out to celebrate by Chris. And he is indeed dragged out but Phichit declines to join them, citing tiredness. And just like his elusive ex-rink-mate, the Thai skater is gone early next morning, flying back to Detroit with Cialdini; although if the rumour mill is to be believed, he is planning on shifting his home rink to Bangkok.

Viktor flies back to St. Petersburg nursing an awful hangover and an even fouler mood. He starts practicing his choreography for the next season, starting with the two ideas he has for his short program but while his jumps are perfect as usual, he knows that the presentation is far from what the programs deserve. But then, how could Viktor channel Eros or Agape, when the only feeling he has inside him is dejection? Yakov notes his lacklustre performance as well and sends him home early.

In hindsight Viktor is grateful; his rink-mates already think he is a dork of massive proportions, they don’t need the extra ammunition of seeing him freak out over Yuuri’s performance. Because Yuuri skates Stammi Vicino and Viktor sees his own longing in the Japanese skater’s movements, his every twist and step resonating with the message of the song. Yuuri seems just as lonely as he is, and Viktor hears the plea for companionship – the plea for _him_! – in his movements along with the music, even though it’s clear that Yuuri was not skating to any music when it was recorded. Viktor cannot look away from the other skater and he ends up watching his performance again and again until his phone’s battery is dead. Then he throws a smallish fit, because _what the fuck_ , who ignores another person for months and then drops this bomb on them?! But even while he is grumbling to Makka, he starts packing, calls a shipping company to get his belongings to Japan and thanks his optimism for requesting a longer visa.

He is on a plane in less than a day. Yakov is not happy – that might be a slight understatement –, but then his coach always finds something to be unhappy about. Viktor just made his job easier by effectively suspending his career for what the other man sees as a hopeless project. Yakov does not understand his reasoning, he can’t see just how desperate Viktor is for inspiration, just how hard it is for him to get up every morning and put on his skates. He does not blame the other man; it’s not like Viktor has been open about his struggles, not even to Yakov who has basically raised him from the moment he set foot at the rink. He thinks on some level Yakov must be aware, which explains the lack of any serious objections but he also knows that he hurt the other man by leaving.

He couldn’t help it though, it was as if there was a physical pull that was dragging him to Yuuri, the need to see the other skater rise to the heights his skating hinted he could easily reach so strong Viktor is surprised he could stand the day he spent packing up his apartment without just jumping on the first available flight. This is the first time he has strayed from the path his skating has carved out for him, but even when considering all the opposition he is likely to encounter he can’t bring himself to regret it. He will be Katsuki Yuuri’s coach and they will show the world what the Japanese skater is capable of.

His budding crush on the other skater is another issue. The thing is, Viktor does not do crushes. He has people who have crushes on him, has received many love declarations and has dated quite a few people, but he was always the one pursued. He liked the people whom he dated, certainly, but he always remained collected, hidden behind his public persona. Not the healthiest way to have a relationship but it was the safest, the way he could ensure that their eventual departure when they realised that skating was Viktor’s first and only love did not hurt him too much. There is nothing collected about his feelings about Yuuri. Viktor feels giddy whenever he thinks of their dance at the banquet, his heart feels like it might burst when he recalls the first time he felt free and unbothered enough to really laugh at an event. And while he would not be stupid enough to call what he feels for the other love – not yet, at least – the fact that he did not hesitate to leave skating behind must mean something, right?

He resolves to make a good enough impression on the other skater; there is no way he can outshine Yuuri’s performance at the banquet, but Viktor will show that he can be smooth and suave. After all, Yuuri’s skate was clearly a proposition, there is no way Viktor misunderstood, he is not an idiot.

Viktor is an idiot.

Yuuri nearly has an aneurysm when he sees him and the way he bolts out of the hot spring seems to imply that he has not expected Viktor’s visit at all. Viktor admits that maybe standing buck naked in front of the other was not the most acceptable form of greeting but then, Yuuri pole-danced nearly naked in front of him; it’s not like Viktor’s behaviour could be seen as an outlier! Yes, Yuuri barging in might have made the Russian’s brain short circuit enough that he has momentarily forgotten that he was indeed as naked as the day he was born, but his point is still valid; Yuuri has started this habit of meeting each other in less clothes than what polite society would accept, he should not be this shocked!

But he is. Yuuri looks like he could faint any moment, Viktor is seriously worried about his blood pressure. Then the Japanese skater runs off and Viktor is just confused, also maybe a bit hurt. He starts to really not appreciate these feelings. He sits back in the water, hoping that the other will return. Yuuri does not come back, and Viktor ends up nearly passing out in the water, he waits for so long. Some of the other patrons help him get out and Yuuri’s mother offers him a green robe that is comfortable and cosy. He sits down to wait for Yuuri but after the gruelling hours of travel and his stint in the bath it is unsurprising that he falls asleep.

When he wakes up Yuuri is there, but he keeps looking at him as if Viktor was some random stranger and not someone the Japanese skater thoroughly seduced. He does not deal with his disappointment in the most graceful way, commenting on Yuuri’s eating habits, but Viktor is confused, tired and a bit homesick so he feels justified in being a bit mean. He regrets it later of course, but he cannot take back the words. Also it seems like being around Yuuri is very bad for his public persona filter, and Viktor knows that he can be a very petty man when he sets his mind to it.

It only goes downwards from there. Yuuri is happy to help with his packages but he all but runs from the room when Viktor tries to approach him again. He admits asking the other to sleep with him is a bit of an overkill but again, his filter has all but disappeared _and_ _he just wants to be close to Yuuri_ , _dammit_! He can’t stop himself from tearing up a little as he cuddles Makka to sleep; so far nothing is working out the way he planned it to. He can only hope that with time he will get Yuuri to open up to him and get back the connection that was sparked in Sochi. He will need to give his very best.

He sets Yuuri up on a training regime to get him back to his competition weight. He wishes it was not necessary – the Japanese skater is positively adorable with the extra curves –, but he needs to be lighter in order to be able to attempt jumps without a high risk of injuries. Viktor shudders to think how much damage a botched jump could do to Yuuri with the additional weight he has on.

Yuuri’s ballet teacher, Okukawa Minako also offers to help. Viktor has a moment of panic where he thinks there is something more than just a teacher-student relationship between the two, but Yuuri lays these worries – loudly – to rest. In fact, it turns out that the Japanese skater is a complete novice in the relationship department, another baffling piece of news added to the walking contradiction that is Katsuki Yuuri. Viktor is starting to learn that he cannot take anything for granted when it comes to the other man. It is confusing but at the same time, being kept on the edge like this makes him feel the most present he has been in years. Intensely frustrated, yes, but doubtlessly present.

It’s not until he is paid a visit by the President of the Official Katsuki Yuuri Fan ClubTM that he realises that Yuuri’s contradictory nature is only _one_ of his problems.

* * *

The day starts out normal. He has breakfast with Yuuri then they jog to the Ice Castle; well, Yuuri jogs, he cycles, but what’s important that it goes the exact same way the previous six mornings he has spent in Hasetsu. At the rink Yuuri starts his workout and Viktor spends some time on the ice. They share a light lunch and then Yuuri leaves for Minako’s studio. Viktor is not allowed; the Japanese skater has been adamant to be allowed to train on his own there and Viktor is a bit ashamed to say that he crumpled in the face of Yuuri’s pleading expression.

It’s not that he does not trust the other; he knows that Yuuri is the least likely person to slack off. But there is only so many times can he watch his student’s previous performances, and watching him dance would have been the second best thing until he is allowed back on the ice. But it turns out that Viktor is weak to Yuuri’s pleading eyes and so he is banned from visiting the studio. He wanders around in Hasetsu, getting to know the locals, petting the local dogs and trying the amazing street-food that is on offer. As the afternoon starts to turn into evening he goes back to Yu-topia and takes Makkachin on a walk to the beach, his old companion behaving like a puppy in the waves while Viktor watches from the distance, filling his lungs with the balmy air.

It is on his way back to the inn that his day changes from the usual script. There is a woman standing at the gate who locks eyes with him as he draws closer. She has a willowy thin build and the movements of a dancer as she steps towards Viktor and Makka.

“Nikiforov-san,” she demurs, bowing, “My name is Okino Tomoe, you have reached out to me in email regarding Yuuri-kun’s practice videos.”

Viktor blinks, but then the name slots into place.

“Oh, you are the President of Yuuri’s Fan Club!” he gushes, “Yes, I have heard online that there is some content from his earlier training days that is not available to members of the public! It would be very helpful if I could access it, for coaching practices!”

Okino’s response is a gracefully raised eyebrow. Viktor knows the excuse is a bit shaky, especially since most of the missing footage is from Yuuri’s early days as a ballet dancer but he keeps his smile, beaming hopefully at the woman. After all, as far as he knows – and he went through the fan pages with a fine-toothed comb on his way to Japan, wanting to learn as much about his student as possible –, Okino is supposed to be based in Tokyo. Why else would she be in Hasetsu but to give him the footage? Viktor is slightly worried that maybe it is in VHS or something similarly ancient, but that is a bridge to be crossed once he has the videos in his possession.

Okino does not give him VHS tapes. She does not give him anything, actually, but invites him out for a drink. Viktor is about to politely refuse her –  he does not want to miss dinner with Yuuri and Makka had enough of a walk – when Mari steps out, offers to take his dog and reminds him that Yuuri is not going to be back for a few more hours, effectively declaring him to be free. Okino does not bat an eyelash at the convenient coincidence, and Viktor starts to feel like maybe this is not just chance after all. When they end up sitting in a quiet corner of Minako’s bar, tiny cups of sake in front of them and the owner watching from behind the bar, he upgrades his suspicion to certainty.

“Ms Okino…” he starts.

“Tomoe is fine, Nikiforov-san.”

“Call me Viktor then, please.”

“Of course, Viktor-san,” Okino smiles at him across the table and Viktor fights a nervous gulp.

However, he is not a novice to negotiations. Granted, they are usually about sponsor agreements and it has been a while since he had to work for one, but he is not about to let himself to be talked – or smiled – into a corner. He is Viktor Nikiforov, he will get what he wants.

“I take it you don’t have the footage I asked about on you?” he asks, deciding that he has no patience for the circles of politeness the Japanese are so famous for.

His bluntness does not seem to surprise the other, but he does hear a muffled snort from the direction of the bar. At least Minako is having fun.

“No, Viktor-san, I do not.”

“Why come to Hasetsu then?”

He gets another raised eyebrow.

“This is the town I was born in, is it so strange that I would come back to it?” comes the amused query, and Viktor feels his nose grow warm. He is not about to let the other win their verbal sparring. While Yuuri seems to destroy his public persona with a look, this woman luckily has no such effect on him.

“Why introduce yourself to me then? Or ask me to come here, for that matter?” he smiles at the woman.

“I could be a fan.”

“You are Yuuri’s fan.”

“Can’t I be both?”

“In that case, can I have Yuuri’s training footage?”

Tomoe laughs, clearly echoed by Minako at the bar.

“You have to be a member for that, Viktor-san,” she cautions, and continues before Viktor can reassure her that he is already Yuuri’s greatest fan, “and you have yet to pass the probationary period.”

Viktor blinks, confused.

“Probationary period?”

“Of course, after all, we can’t let everyone just become a full-fledged member! We need to make sure first that they won’t do anything to hurt Yuuri-kun!”

Viktor nods, it makes perfect sense, of course they would protect their idol. He can’t help but hope that their wetting process is less intense than what the Internet says Yura’s fan club requires; while he has spent a considerable time googling Yuuri, he is not certain he could identify the other from a lock of hair.

“Like mistaking him for an ordinary fan instead of a competitor and crushing his dreams of being recognised by his idol.”

_Oh, shit._

“That would be horrible, right, Viktor-san?” Tomoe’s eyes glint menacingly at him.

Viktor would like for a hole to open under him and swallow him right now, please and thank you. Now that he recalls, that reporter, Morooka, often writes opinion pieces that end up published on the Fan Pages. Of course he would not hesitate to tell the others about Viktor’s blunder.

“Maybe it wasn’t intentional…” he murmurs, but he can’t hide a wince as he recalls Yuuri’s crestfallen face.

“Hence the probationary period,” comes Tomoe’s response and it ends the conversation very effectively.

He heads back to the inn on his own, Tomoe choosing to stay behind, chatting with Minako. By the time he gets back, Yuuri is soaking away in the water, but for once he decides not to join him. If the Japanese man notices his quietness during dinner, he does not say anything. Viktor allows himself one night of sulking, but by the next morning he is back on his feet. After all, he only needs to show that he can be trusted around Yuuri, how hard could that be?

He will have that footage in no time.

* * *

Yura’s sudden arrival throws a wrench in his planned schedule, but Viktor is good at working with curveballs. The competition should be a perfect tool for Yuuri to redeem himself in his own eyes, clearly this is what the Japanese skater needs! And Viktor has seen the effects of the dwindling tourism on Hasetsu, clearly the town could also benefit from some additional attention!

He assigns roles to the two skaters that are quite different from their usual programmes. It will be a good learning opportunity for both but if Viktor is honest, he also just really wanted to see the Yuuri from the banquet again. Then the other man declares katsudon to be his Eros and Viktor starts to wonder if maybe they are not speaking English after all. Maybe Yuuri has a food fetish? Viktor has never tried anything like that but he would be willing to, for the other man. He tries to incorporate food into his prompts at training, and while he feels absolutely ridiculous, it seems to work?

Yurio – who pretends to be all prickly about his new nickname but he is fooling absolutely no-one – eyes them with disgust, but Viktor recognises his own kind; he knows that the moment the little tiger develops serious feelings for anyone, he will outdo them all. His little crush on Yuuri is an indicator as it is; Viktor knows that Yurio thinks he is subtle, but he is anything but. He is lucky that Viktor is not a jealous man and that Yuuri is probably the least aware person in all existence.

He nearly runs the two into the ground, but the result is Yurio’s purest performance to date and Yuuri… Yuuri breaks Viktor a little more. It’s fine, he is getting used to the feeling of his world rearranging itself because of something the other man did. He could never complain about life being boring with Yuuri, although fewer shocks would probably be kinder on his heart. His crush is developing into feelings too strong given the short time he has known Yuuri, but he feels like he couldn’t stop it from happening if he tried. He does not even try.

Yurio leaves. Viktor calls Yakov, who yells at him but agrees to pick the young skater up from the airport. His old coach does not ask about him which hurts but it has not been long since Viktor’s offense and he knows if Yakov truly hated him, he would not have picked up the phone. It will get better with time.

Viktor is ready to start training in earnest for the upcoming competition, but his student would not be himself if he just did whatever Viktor expected him to do. Yuuri avoids him as if he had the plague for no apparent reason and Viktor must admit that he is furious. But then, Yuuri being Yuuri, it turns out that the other was hiding because he didn’t want to disappoint him! As if he could?! Viktor is again baffled by Yuuri’s extremely low opinion of himself, but the vehemence with which the other declares that he wants him to stay himself makes him smile. Of course Yuuri would prove himself to be unique again and choose just him, without any of the roles he offered. It is a good thing too, because Viktor is not certain he could take up any of his previous masks around his student.

They resume training after that. The moment Viktor first listens to the song that will be known as Yuri on Ice later, he knows that Yuuri will make history this season. He later also realises that while he appreciates the lack of pre-made labels around their relationship, to some extent he would have preferred for them to be declared boyfriends. If for nothing else, then so that enthusiastic fans such as Minami Kenjirou realise that their idol is taken, thank you very much, and stop sparkling at Yuuri with such enthusiasm. It turns out that when he classified himself as not a jealous man, he has neglected to take how he feels when Yuuri’s attention focuses on someone else into account. Yes, Viktor might be jealous of a seventeen-year-old; but he has overheard the boy gushing about how he still follows some of Yuuri’s warm up routines from his dancer days which Viktor knows are all part of the precious member-only footage that he is still not privy to, and he admits that he does not take this exclusion well. He still lectures Yuuri on the importance of being nice to fans because he is trying to be a good coach, but he has a feeling that his advice is not worded in the most constructive way. It turns out that being himself without letting his blunt nature take completely over is harder than he thought it would be.

Yuuri proves himself to be as bull-headed as the best of them, ignoring Viktor’s orders and crashing head-first into the barrier. Viktor starts to sympathise with Yakov, which is something he never thought he would do. The thought leaves him a bit shaken, which means that when he sees the blood dribbling from Yuuri’s nose, he automatically side-steps the other, not thinking about how likely it is that the Japanese skater will faceplant into the ground. Luckily the second fall does not injure his student further, although Yuuri is a bit out of it for the rest of the afternoon. After the ceremony, Viktor takes Yuuri’s certificate back to Hasetsu with him, while the other has an appointment with the JSF, where he is to announce his theme for the new season.

Viktor’s Japanese is still atrocious – he is trying to learn it though! – so he does not understand a word Yuuri says, but the Katsuki family around him is quite entertained, so he can’t imagine it is too bad. What is horrible, however, is Yuuri’s taste in suits and that monstrosity he calls a tie. Viktor resolves to get rid of them both. Maybe Makkachin will be willing to be his partner in crime and ‘accidentally’ chew on them? His beloved pet shows his true colours when he chews on Viktor’s favourite loafers instead, although that could simply be a sign of good taste.

Yuuri seems to sense his ill will towards the suit and locks it away in his room, along with the tie. Viktor is still not allowed in the room unattended after he went in looking for a pen and managed to unearth Yuuri’s entire poster collection by accident. The Japanese man refuses to budge on this, even after Viktor shows the considerable amount of Yuuri paraphilia that he has collected since his arrival in Hasetsu. If anything, that makes it worse. Viktor resolves to be trickier in the future but then he receives a politely worded email from Tomoe that states that his probationary period has been extended due to his careless handling of Yuuri and he is too busy cursing himself to come up with new strategies.

Apparently, Yuuri’s fall – and Viktor’s sidestep – has been caught on camera, and the President is not amused. Admittedly, had Viktor’s mind not been so occupied with the imagining himself aging like Yakov – the baldness!!! –, he would have caught the other. But he did not, and it is only due to the hardness of Yuuri’s head that he has gotten away without any serious injuries, something that Viktor is reminded by not only Tomoe, but Minako and Takeshi as well. Viktor is selfishly glad that Yuuri does not seem to hold a grudge against him, but at the same time he is happy to see that his student has so many stalwart supporters who are not afraid to tell the Russian Legend off. Even if it means the precious training footage is further away than ever. He will be busy with preparing Yuuri to the Grand Prix qualifiers anyway, and it’s not like he will be a repeat offender, so eventually he will get in.

Except, it turns out that getting smashed in a restaurant and cuddling your student naked is also a punishable offence, as it “damages Yuuri-kun’s image”. Even though it was Phichit who posted the picture and Yuuri is clearly fine with pole-dancing at Grand Prix events so Viktor is starting to feel like there are some double standards involved. However, Tomoe’s word is law and Phichit proves to be a cheerful but useless ally as the Asian Division’s President, so Viktor resolves to go without the footage for a bit longer.

Then Yuuri nearly cracks before his free skate and Viktor is desperately trying to bring back that fighting spirit that he knows the other has. Of course he fails, he is a horrible coach, Yakov has said so too, and all he can do is watch as Yuuri starts crying. He would offer anything to help the other to calm down but he will admit that he is awful at dealing with crying people so it is no surprise that his suggestions are all pretty much rubbish. Him being himself around the other is clearly rubbish as well, but once he started Viktor can’t go back to his public persona. He does not think Yuuri would stand for it either. The Japanese man gets a hold of himself in the end, because Yuuri is wonderful and strong and incredible. Then he goes and skates and finishes his free skate with a quad flip because Yuuri is also the craziest man Viktor will ever meet in his life, so of course he changes his jump components in the middle of his free skate.

Viktor should be angry, after all, his student just ignored everything he told him to do as a coach and risked a jump he never practiced instead of going with the safe option. He knows Yakov would have yelled himself hoarse already. He should be angry, but all he can feel is unconditional love for this wonderful man who has accepted the mess that is Viktor. He loves Yuuri.

Yuuri’s eyes, just before he kisses the other, are wide with surprise. The arena explodes around them, but all Viktor can think of that it was worth the wait. And that if Yuuri wanted to wait more, he would, as long as it takes, just so that he could be with the other man. Yuuri seems disinclined to wait though, as he kisses Viktor shyly in the changing rooms after the medal ceremony when the Russian tries to apologise for the suddenness of the gesture. They remain in the changing rooms until security comes to boot them out, saying that the rink is closing and please would they take their PDA elsewhere?

They manage to keep it off Instagram. Not for the lack of trying on Phichit’s part, though.

Phichit pulls Viktor to the side on the day they are all flying back to their respective rinks and cheerfully outlines the numerous ways he can destroy him on social media if he ever hurts Yuuri. Viktor takes his threats seriously because he is not a stupid man, then he goes and rescues Yuuri from Chris’s wandering hands. Chris winks at him and lets him know that he has also done his duty as Viktor’s friend and has threatened Yuuri with a skate to his sensitive regions if he hurt Viktor. Viktor blushes worse than Yuuri, but he can’t help but feel happy; Chris has never done that to any of the people he has dated before. Clearly he can tell it too, that Yuuri is the real one for Viktor. And anyways, it’s not like Viktor can complain after what he has said to Chris’s husband after they started officially dating. That man is a saint for both putting up with Christophe and not calling the police on Viktor after he has hinted that he has ex-KGB connections who could disappear him easily. He doesn’t, for the record, but he is not sure Masumi knew that at the time.

* * *

They go back to Hasetsu where Yuuri’s family welcome them with a party. Viktor is a bit worried about how they will receive the change in his and Yuuri’s relationship, but the Katsukis and the Nishigoris are all very happy for them, and apart from some good-natured ribbing all they get is support. Hiroko tells Viktor to call her Mama and cheerfully bestows all the family albums to him. Toshiya – Papa from then on – distracts Yuuri so that Viktor can squirrel away his horde for later perusal. Mari tells him that she will knee him in the balls if he calls her nee-san but offers him a standing invitation for a cigarette. Mari’s cigarette times are sacred and she is very picky in her choice of companions so the offer her acceptance.

There are no shovel talks. Viktor is a bit bewildered but then the next day he is cornered by Minako, Takeshi and Yuuko of all people, who are very thorough in their description of what would befall Viktor if he were to hurt Yuuri. Viktor thought that Lilia Baranovskaya was a scary woman, but she has nothing on Yuuko when she cheerfully describes just how she will crush Viktor’s balls if he treats Yuuri poorly. His only saving grace is that Takeshi seems just as intimidated by his wife; clearly they have both seriously underestimated Yuuko. He also receives another polite email from Tomoe that congratulates him on their relationship but reminds him that Minako sees all, including the redness of Yuuri’s eyes before the free skate. He would feel upset by the further lengthening of his probation period, but now that he has Yuuri as his boyfriend he finds that he barely cares about it.

The continue training, making sure they have time to practice the quadruple flip. Viktor feels like his heart is ready to burst whenever he sees Yuuri flit around on the ice, enchanting as some otherworldly creature that graced the world with his presence. For the first time in years he finds that he does not have to think about choreography, the moves come to him easy as breathing when he has some private ice-time while Yuuri is at the gym. He hasn’t felt this carefree in years; he feels like Yuuri has gifted him with wings that lift him from the furore he was trapped in before and it shows. The choreography he starts to play with is light, joyful and full of love… the perfect homage to Yuuri.

He does not have much time to develop it though as Yuuri shyly invites him to his dance practices. Viktor is elated even when Minako takes it up on herself to put him through his paces as well, berating his stiff extensions and oddly tilted head. He leaves dance practice exhausted but seeing Yuuri make music with his body is more than worth it, even if the next day he feels twice his age. The hot springs are certainly a blessing.

Yuuri moves into his room. The first time happens by accident. They converge in Viktor’s room after dinner, watching old skating videos of his and taking notes on techniques they could adapt to make Yuuri’s skate even more dynamic. One moment they are looking at his performance from the Olympics and the next Viktor wakes to a crick in his neck from falling asleep at an odd angle. Yuuri is snoring lightly next to him, head half in Viktor’s lap. Viktor is too tired to work out the logistics of transporting the other man back into his room so he only maneuvers the two of them under the covers and is out like a light in no time. The next morning should be awkward, especially with Yuuri’s anxiety, but somehow by the time they both wake up enough to start fretting about it, it feels like old news. They don’t talk about it, but the next evening Yuuri stays over again, and by the end of the week he has as good as moved in. They don’t go any further than kissing, most of the time Yuuri is just too exhausted for anything more and Viktor is determined to be a good coach. If he ends up taking more cold showers than before that’s no-one’s business but his.

They leave for Rostelecom Coup in high spirits, planning a short extended stay as an early birthday treat for Yuuri. Viktor is of course nearly mobbed by reporters the moment they step into the hotel. He expects it, after all he hasn’t been back in Russia since he decided to take a year off and the press has always had a special interest in him, ever since he stepped onto the ice at his first competition. He sends Yuuri ahead and does not hesitate to use Yurio as distraction when he decides that he had enough of the invasive questions. He decides to give Yuuri some time to settle in and goes for a short walk instead, re-familiarising himself with the streets of Moscow. They are planning on spending an extra day there after the competition, then they will take the train to St. Petersburg where they will spend three more days before heading back to Japan where they will celebrate Yuuri’s actual birthday with the Katsukis and the Nishigoris. There is talk about some of the members of the Fan Club dropping in as well. Yuuri has set some very strict spending boundaries for Viktor for his present which is not ideal but also endearingly like Yuuri so Viktor can’t even bring himself to be mad about it. He returns to the hotel in high spirits. Yuuri seems calmer than usual as well, and they head out for an early dinner together.

The next day Yuuri is a bit tenser, but spending some time practicing seems to calm him. Yurio is around as well with Yakov and so is most of the Russian team, but they don’t disturb Yuuri and the Japanese skater seems to be able to ignore their presence. Yakov also ignores Viktor’s which affects him more than how he thought it would but he is quick to shut down his thoughts of ties forever broken. He needs to focus on Yuuri, Yakov will have to wait. His rink-mates notice the tension too, but they still approach him with their usual teasing banter, an act for which Viktor is grateful even if he doesn’t show it. He knows they can tell and that’s enough. His jealousy does rear its ugly head when Mila prances over to Yuuri and starts fawning over him, but the fact that the other skater is quick to step beside him stops him from making a fool of himself. Mila, Gosha and Yurio invite them out for dinner; well, Mila and Gosha do and Yurio swears at them. It almost feels like old times, even Yakov’s lack of presence is not unusual; their old coach usually lets his skaters spend their last dinner before a competition amongst themselves.

On the day of competition, the pressure of the press seems to finally reach Yuuri. The other man is tense during warm-up and Viktor admits to being slightly worried. After all, if Yuuri does not get better than fourth place he will not be able to compete in the Final. Viktor knows that his skater has the ability to reach the top of the podium, both in Moscow and in the Final in Barcelona, but he has also seen the devastating effect of Yuuri’s anxiety. He can only hope that he proves to be enough support to the other man and that he can help Yuuri show the world just what he is capable of.

It _would_ definitely help if the crowd stopped screaming Viktor’s name over and over again. He waves at them, the gesture basically a reflex after the PR training he has received when he started his career, even though he would rather tell them to shut up and focus on the skater preparing to take the ice. He does not need to in the end, Yuuri shuts them up for him with his best performance yet. Jean-Jacques beats Yuuri but still after Cup of China, Viktor thinks a second place might even be a better place for Yuuri before the free skate. Hopefully this way he will be able to keep his anxiety in check. Viktor can’t wait to see what he will bring to the free skate this time. Nothing will stop them from advancing to the Final.

Then Yuuri gets a call.

Viktor curses his stupidity. He should have put more emphasis on Makkachin’s unfortunate food-stealing habits, or at least he should have given Mari his phone number so it is not Yuuri who receives a call so similar to what he has received last year. As it is, he can do nothing but stare at the younger man as Yuuri sends him back to Japan so that he could do what the other couldn’t. So that he could be with Makkachin when Yuuri couldn’t be with Vicchan, even if there is nothing that they can do to save his dog. He refuses at first but Yuuri is adamant and Viktor must admit that on some level he is relieved to hear the order to go back. He would never abandon Yuuri to competing alone but the thought that Makkachin, his only steady companion throughout the ten plus years might be dying breaks his heart over and over again. He loves Yuuri more than ever for allowing him to be selfish, for not hating him for loving Makkachin even if it means turning his back to skating again.

He begs Yakov to take Yuuri on for the next day. He knows that he is a disappointment as a coach but he also knows that if he stays, Yuuri will not be able to focus on his skating, too worried for Makkachin. He needs to go. Yakov, bless his balding head, agrees and Viktor takes the first plane available back to Japan. He leaves Yuuri behind, but he feels like a part of him has also stayed in Russia with the Japanese skater.

By the time he gets to Hasetsu, Makkachin is out of danger and resting. He texts Yuuri, and receives an answer straight away, which then of course means that he calls the other man to scold him for not sleeping before the competition. He stays on the phone until Yuuri falls asleep and makes his way back to the inn where he collapses onto his bed and does not move until it is time for the free skate. He watches with the Katsukis and the Nishigoris as competitor after competitor takes the ice, half-heartedly munching on the bowl of food Mama puts in front of him. It is Yuuri’s turn and Viktor feels his heart lurch at how pale the other looks. Still, it wouldn’t be Yuuri if he did not surprise them all by powering through, managing to qualify for the GPF in the end. Viktor is so proud of him; he can’t wait until the other is in his arms to tell him so. The only reason he does not take off for Fukouka right away is that Mama and Papa bundle him up and send him off to bed, not taking no for an answer.

He leaves with the earliest train the next day. Makkachin comes with him, proclaimed healthy by the vet. They get to the airport five hours early, but Viktor can’t bring himself to regret rushing there. He makes sure that Makkachin has plenty of water and sits himself down at arrivals. Occasionally he takes his dog out for a short walk and he makes sure that Makkachin is fed. He himself can’t bring himself to eat and continues to stare at his phone where the last text from Yuuri says that he just boarded his first flight but he forgot to charge his phone so he won’t be able to text at the layover.

Time goes by and Viktor only looks up when he hears Makkachin bark. He turns his head and on the other side of the glass corridor is Yuuri. Yuuri, who looks like he slept about as much as Viktor, rumpled from the long flight, probably still aching from his free skate. Yuuri, who is at that moment the most beautiful person Viktor has ever seen in his life. They start to run and they must look absolutely ridiculous and it will probably be in the gossip magazines tomorrow along with Viktor’s five-hour vigil but fuck if Viktor cares. They hug in the middle of the doorway and Viktor never wants to let Yuuri go. The wonderful, kind people of Japan allow them a five-minute interval for reuniting with each other before they start making polite noises about them getting out of the way, please?

They move but Viktor refuses to let go of Yuuri’s hand. He would feel like he is being too clingy if Yuuri wasn’t grasping his hand with the same desperation. Maneuvering with Yuuri’s luggage and Makkachin is a bit tricky when they only have one hand free each but they manage. They catch the train back to Hasetsu but they can barely make it inside the inn and Viktor’s room before they fall asleep. They sleep until the next morning, when they wake feeling like they have been run over by a semi. Mama makes them breakfast with strong tea and then sends them off to soak.

“I’m sorry you couldn’t see St. Petersburg,” Viktor murmurs as they sit next to each other in the hot water.

Yuuri smiles at him.

“It’s fine, Makkachin’s health is more important,” he answers and Viktor thought he could not love this man anymore but he was oh-so-wrong.

“Oh well, we can always visit between the GPF and the Worlds!” he chirps and he can’t help it but peck Yuuri on the cheek.

The other man blushes an adorable red. They keep kissing between them, and apart from their regular hugs this is the most intimate they have been in a public space. Viktor is worried for a moment that Yuuri will clam up, but then the Japanese skater surprises him again by gently kissing him. Viktor feels his nose go warm and he knows the other has caught the blush as well when Yuuri grins at him smugly. Of course, Viktor cannot let the challenge go unmet, and they end up booted out by a chuckling Papa. This means that throughout the day everyone from Mari to Minako sends them suggestive little winks but for once it does not seem to bother Yuuri too much. That said, he still blushes and attempts to hide under the table but then he also snarks back when they expect it the least. This newfound confidence carries over at night, and Viktor can barely blink before he has an amorous Japanese skater trying to, he believes the best expression would be ‘climb him like a tree’. They end up not catching up on as much sleep as they planned on.

* * *

Yuuri’s birthday comes and the inn breaks out in decorations. There are several parties. One for the close family, one where they connect Yuuri’s laptop to the main room’s TV so that they can see all people logging in for a three-hour skype call and one when the guests of the inn, people of Hasetsu and members of Yuuri’s Fan Club also make appearance. Viktor manages to avoid Tomoe for approximately half an hour before she is cornered by her and two other women called Yumi and Ruka, who end up being identified as other founding members.

“Nikiforov-san,” Tomoe greets him, “This is Yumi and Ruka. They wanted to meet you in person too.”

“Lovely to meet you,” Viktor smiles at the women, but he knows it is a bit strained.

He knows that he is about to get scolded again for leaving Yuuri to fend for himself. He knows he failed the other as a coach, even if Yuuri does not think it so. He knows all of this and that Tomoe is right to scold him, but the last few days have taken a lot out of him and he is just not ready to deal with that on top of everything.

“Is Makkachin alright?”

Viktor blinks. That is not the question he expected. The two new women giggle at him while Tomoe just smiles.

“Yes, she is fine now, thank you,” Viktor answers.

“That’s good, we were all very worried,” Tomoe says, and Viktor still waits for the other shoe to drop, but there is nothing.

“Thank you for your concern,” he responds, still feeling a bit wrong-footed. And still, the scolding never comes. The women just smile at him, wish him good luck at the GPF, then go and congratulate Yuuri.

Viktor weirdly feels like he just passed another test, and feels so overwhelmed that he needs to leave the party for a moment. He ends up in the garden, the crisp November air feeling like little pinches on his cheeks, nose and ears.

“They will not punish you for loving Makkachin,” Mari interrupts his thoughts quietly. Viktor did not even notice her coming up next to him.

“Thank you for taking care of her,” he smiles at the woman.

Mari nods.

“I’m glad I could… this time,” and Viktor can tell that they are both thinking about another dog that did not make it, and how glad they are that there is no need to raise a shrine for Makkachin as well.

Mari offers a cigarette. Viktor declines but decides to keep the other company until the cigarette is finished and they head back inside. Yuuri looks up when they step in and the smile on his face makes Viktor’s heart melt. They don’t remain at the party for long.

* * *

It feels like they barely blink a few times and the GPF is upon them. Barcelona is beautiful even in winter and Viktor can’t stop himself from trying out the pool, even though it is not heated. Chris joins him and for a moment it feels like it always does before competitions, when the two of them would fool around to get rid of any pre-competition nerves. Still, the difference is easy to spot when they return to the room Viktor shares with Yuuri and there is his Sleeping Beauty, blinking dazedly at the two of them.

After practice, Yuuri asks to be taken sightseeing and Viktor can’t help but smuggle in some shopping so that Yuuri will have something that is worthy of him to wear for the banquet. The hated suit-and-tie combination is still there in Yuuri’s bag, no matter how Viktor begged for the other to leave it home – or please just let him lit it on fire, it would be the best use of it, honestly! –, Yuuri showed just how stubborn can he be. Viktor hopes that by providing the other with a suit that actually fits and is a flattering colour, he can distract Yuuri enough so that he can accidentally-on-purpose damage the other garment enough for it to be unwearable.

The shopping experience is a success, but Yuuri wouldn’t be Yuuri if he did not find a way to completely upend Viktor’s world. Which he does when he drags the Russian skater into a jewellery store, proceeds to buy wedding rings and slides it on Viktor’s finger in front of a church. Viktor does not know what has he done to deserve this man, he just hopes that he will get to keep him forever and ever.

Especially when it turns out that Yuuri remembers precisely nothing of last year’s banquet, which means that he has accepted Viktor even though he must have come off as a complete and utter pervert. He is just glad that no-one really knows just how strong he came onto Yuuri in those first few days – apart from Chris but the two of them have a pact, he will keep silent – because he is certain that Yuuko Nishigori would crush him singlehandedly. Yuuri is embarrassed but Viktor cannot wait until it’s only the two of them so that he can explain just how much the other shook his world that night… and maybe request a repeat performance in the future. Yuuri blushes so red he could be used as a Christmas decoration but he does not say no. Which is promising, if entirely unhelpful when it comes to helping Viktor go to sleep.

He lets Yuuri sleep in and goes for a walk. The winter air is crisp enough to wake him up, and he cannot stop himself from admiring his ring and the promise of forever it represents. He has been alone for so long, only having Makkachin to come home to that now that there is the promise of seeing Yuuri every time he reaches home he can’t help but think that this is all just a beautiful dream. Yurio’s kicks to his back help to confirm that he is indeed awake. The little kitten is adorable, his admiration for Yuuri badly disguised if you know him and Viktor feels glad that his leaving did not affect Yurio negatively. He would have hated himself if the teenager’s performance suffered because of Viktor’s decision.

The first day of the final does not go as well as they would have wanted to. Yuuri touches down at the quadruple flip and ends up finishing fourth. Viktor knows this is far from the end of the world, he can bring it all back, but Yuuri is subdued the rest of the day. Viktor plans on letting him come to his conclusions on his own, but it all backfires when Yuuri asks to talk to him.

“After the Final, let’s end this.”

And of course Yuuri, magnificent, amazing, _surprising_ Yuuri keeps on shocking Viktor, even when it means trampling on his heart. He talks about Viktor making a comeback, as if the ice was the most important thing in his life again, as if that was the only thing Viktor should care about and Viktor can’t keep the tears at bay. He does not want to go back to having skating as his only love and life, not after seeing what it is like to live with Katsuki Yuuri, to breathe in the life and love that resonates around the other. If returning to the ice means spending time apart from Yuuri, seeing each other only at competitions and what precious downtime figure skaters have then Viktor would rather stay away from the ice.

But of course Yuuri sees him completely, of course he does, he has been the only one to do so for a while. Of course he saw him practicing the new choreography and came to his own conclusions. And Viktor would like to refute him completely, would like to declare that he does not want the ice, not now and not ever, but they both know that it’s not that simple. They are both addicts of the ice after all, and one addict can tell just how much the other is missing his drug. Because Viktor does miss the ice; he misses training and competing and winning. But he does not want to stand there alone; he wants to stand on the podium next to Yuuri – above or below it does not matter –, he wants to compete against the other man, bring his best against Yuuri’s best and see who comes out on the top. He wants not only see the skater Yurio will grow up into but compete against him, he wants to take on the Olympics with Chris, Yurio and Yuuri at his side and see who can surprise the audience and each other the most.

So it is not that Viktor does not want to return to the ice. He does, rather desperately, in fact, while he still can, while he is still young enough. He just wants to do so with Yuuri, and not because Yuuri decides to leave it. Because Viktor also sees the addict in Yuuri and he knows that the other will never be happy if he walks away after the GPF. Oh sure, he thinks so now, but the moment the next competition comes around he will wish he was there. And Viktor is scared that their bond will not survive that. That Yuuri will learn to resent him and he will not only lose Yuuri as a competitor, but as everything else as well.

So Viktor cries. He cries, he yells and he begs Yuuri to reconsider, to not announce anything until after the Final. And when the other grants his request, Viktor prays. He is not particularly religious, has never been, but he finds himself praying for some sort of higher power to please fix this. _Please don’t let this end._

The free skate comes too soon. He barely talks to Yuuri and he is harsher than what the other probably would deserve but he just can’t keep his hurt inside. His mask is failing him.

And then Yuuri surprises him again, and breaks his World Record.

And the only thing Viktor can think of is that he will have to switch up his jump composition if he wants to take it back at Worlds. And he knows that regardless of what Yuuri ends up deciding, there is no way he can stay off the ice. The happiness in the other’s eyes when he tells him feels like a benevolence and a curse at the same time. Viktor wants to stay mad at him but Yuuri is just so happy, nearly iridescent in this success and in his joy over Viktor’s return, Viktor just can’t break that smile.

He walks. He finds Yurio and Yakov and the little tiger takes the news about as well as expected. Before he leaves, Yakov pats him on the shoulder, and in the light touch, Viktor understands that his coach gets it, and that he will be there to eventually scrape him together. He is forgiven.

Viktor ends up watching Yurio from the bottom of the stands, which means that it he is nearly swallowed up by the celebrating crowd when Yurio wins gold by one of the smallest margins ever. It takes him a while to extract himself, but he manages to avoid the reporters. It seems fitting that Yuuri would find him at the edge of the rink, as if he was just finishing a skate.

Viktor thinks he is ready. He is ready for Yuuri to say he is still retiring. He is ready for him to say he is going back to Celestino. He is ready to try a long-distance relationship. He thinks he will not survive it but he is ready for Yuuri to say he wants to break all ties with him. What he is not at all ready to hear is for Yuuri to ask him to stay on as his coach for another year. So of course that’s what Yuuri, wonderful, amazing, one-of-a-kind Yuuri asks. Because he is clearly not done surprising Viktor yet. Viktor hopes he never will be.

They are kicked out of the rink again when their hugging starts to obstruct the work of the cleaning crew.

Viktor knows that this is far from a clear resolution. They still need to hash out the details, where will they train and how will they manage it, but for now, he can’t bring himself to think about the logistics. He squeezes Yuuri’s hand and the Japanese skater squeezes back softly. Viktor can’t help himself. He brings them to a stop and kisses the other. The crowd around them is probably less appreciative of their PDA but the route from the rink to the hotel seems too long to wait without kissing the other. Yuuri does not seem inclined to break the kiss either and it’s no surprise that what should have been a twenty-minute walk ends up taking them an hour.

They order room service and refuse to emerge from their room until the next day. The days after are a mixture of watching the ladies’ and pair skates, sightseeing and enough kisses that Yurio threatens to ‘cut them with his knife shoes’. Yakov nearly blows a vein when he hears of their plan for the rest of the season and the next one – and at least four more if Viktor has his way – but he watches the choreography Viktor has started to play with and grudgingly praises it. Viktor stays on the ice and starts reworking the free program he planned for this year; he builds it up to be worth it as a tribute to Yuuri’s influence in his life. There is still plenty things to do but Viktor feels ready to take them on.

The banquet is an event on its own again. Not because of a repeat of the dancing – pole or otherwise –, unfortunately, but because Yurio is outed as the President of the European Division. Viktor has not forgotten about the training videos, but he has also grown smarter and knows that asking for those will get him straight no. However, there are other ways of getting access, and he is more determined than ever. Unfortunately, Yurio does not react well to his unveiling and refuses to give Viktor any additional access. Maybe his reaction is a tad too petty, but when the rest of the skating community nearly mobs Yurio for information, he only directs Otabek in the direction of the blond skater and stays around to take pictures. Yuuri hides under a table until the madness goes down a bit. Viktor approves of this idea and after liberating a champagne bottle and some food goes to join the other. The get around an hour of couple-time before Phichit Chris crash their under-table-party. Masumi is the one who ends up shepherding everyone up to their rooms two hours later.

The next day finds them slightly hungover and very tired. Turns out that Isabella is an expert in hangover cures – spillovers from J.J.’s wilder days – and she is kind enough to supply all of them with smoothies that help them feel more alive. It turns out that after half an hour or so conversation, J.J. will automatically revert to an inside voice, which is also very much appreciated by everyone. Yura and Otabek find them later when they all feel a bit better but still look like death, and the youngest skater does not waste time in expressing just how lame and old they all are.

Their exhibition skate is later in the day, and it is perfect. He feels even more connected to Yuuri than ever and he is ecstatic to show the world the answer to the prayer that is his Stammi Vicino from last year. It is also a warning that they will not hesitate to shake things up a bit, even if it goes against the convention. He can see Yakov get even greyer and bolder but Yuuri’s hand is steady in his, his trust and love an unshakeable safety net that will not let Viktor fall… never again, just as Viktor will forever hold Yuuri.

Of course, Yurio must do his own part to ensure that their coach does not have to spend on shampoo for long. Viktor is entertained, even though he does not remember allowing his – very expensive, mind – possessions to be used as cheap props. Yakov does not see how this is the most important problem of all and not even Yuuri understands just how important it is to have the perfect sunglasses. Especially when certain styles have a habit of making his – completely normal sized, thank you very much – forehead seem larger. They just don’t understand.

They decide to stay around in Barcelona for a few days to make up for the missed holiday in St. Petersburg. They return to a Hasetsu that seems to have been decorated by all existing Katsuki Yuuri memorophilia that there is, and it takes around the week for life to calm down enough that it can be seen as any kind of normal.

By that time it is Christmas and Viktor is woken up on the 25th of December by a cake, singing, and around two kilos of confetti. He gets gifts from Yuuri, Mama and Papa, Mari, the Nishigoris, and it turns out that even the Russian contingent mailed their presents. Mama makes him tea with jam in it – even though he knows that to the Japanese that might as well be an abomination – and during the whole day every food or drink served is one of his favourites. There is obviously a party. It is interrupted by well-wishes on skype and via phone as people make time to celebrate Viktor amidst their own Christmas celebration, but what Viktor sees as its ultimate highlight is when Tomoe walks up to him, flanked by Yumi, Ruka, Yuuko and Minako and presents him with not only a certificate of membership of the Official Katsuki Yuuri Fan ClubTM but also a Blu-ray compilation of the training videos.

Yuuri will blanch when he will see them later, muttering about purple tights and tutu skirts but by that time Viktor will have five copies in different locations and he will be confident in the survival of the records even in the face of Yuuri’s embarrassment fuelled actions.

Before they head to bed, Yuuri takes Viktor by the hand and walks out into the garden. There is a merry little fire burning, creating some warmth and light in the cold, dark December night and it is in this firelight that Yuuri hands Viktor another package.

“Happy Birthday,” he murmurs, cheeks aflame.

Viktor just blinks at the package. He has already received Yuuri’s present, so this package is quite confusing. Even more confusing is the location that Yuuri has chosen to gift it at. On one hand, he would like to take his time to guess the gift, but it is also freezing and he would rather be inside, trying to figure out just how far does Yuuri’s adorable blush go, so he rips it open without further ado. And stares.

“Yuuri!!!” he exclaims, mouth in its customary heart shape.

“You kept going on and on about it… and it’s your birthday so I thought…” Yuuri shrugs, and the nonchalant act would work if he was not flushing an even deeper red than before.

Viktor grins, looks down at the items in his hand, then flings them into the fire with the most dramatic throw that he can manage. The thrice-damned suit and tie burn merrily and Viktor refuses to go inside until all they leave behind is ash.

The smoke clings to them, which means another shower but he thinks in this case it was worth it. Yuuri does not agree but after some creative use of the shower time the younger man also accepts the sacrifices one must make for fashion and they cuddle up with Makkachin on Viktor’s bed.

“I love you, solnyshko,” Viktor kisses Yuuri gently.

“I love you too, Vitya. Happy Birthday,” murmurs Yuuri back shyly, the diminutive foreign on his lips.

Viktor feels himself blush, but at least he knows he is not the only one. He crushes the other in a hug, mouth heart-shaped as usual. He thinks about this year of surprises, life and love and he realises that for the first time in a long while, he actually looks forward to what the next year might bring.

Because he knows that no matter what it will be, neither him nor Yuuri will have to face it alone.

Never again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ###### Russian words:
> 
>  **Solnyshko:** little sun.  
> 
> 
> ###### Chapter count:
> 
> As you have probably seen, this chapter is the one but last in this fic! I might revisit this verse later if there is interest, but for now, there is only one more chapter to go! I will do my best to ensure there is no two-month waiting time for it this time!  
> 
> 
> ###### Tumblr:
> 
> If you ever feel like you want to chat, I have a [tumblr ](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/confusedthundercloud), feel free to come and talk to me! :D

**Author's Note:**

> ###### Ballet-terms used:
> 
>  **Arabesque:** a position where the body is supported on one leg, with the other leg extended directly behind the body with a straight knee.  
>  **Brisé Volé:** a classical ballet term that means “flying brise.” Basically, a brisé volé is when a dancer alternates between brisé front and back in succession. Each time the dancer jumps and lands, it is on one leg.  
>  **Sissonne:** a classical ballet term that describes a dancer jumping from two feet and splitting their legs “like scissors” in the air before landing.  
> 
> 
> ###### Japanese education system:
> 
>  **Primary school:** from the age of 7 to 12.  
>  **Junior high school:** from the age of 13 to 15.  
>  **Senior high school:** from the age of 16 to 18, students have to complete very difficult entrance exams to get in.  
>  **University:** from the age of 19 to 22.  
> 
> 
> ###### Prizes/competitions discussed:
> 
>  **USA IBC:** USA International Ballet Competition, held in Jackson, Mississippi, occurs every 4 years, in Olympic style.  
>  **Japan Academy Prize:** the Japanese Oscar's.  
>  **Benois de la Danse:** one of the most prestigious ballet competitions.  
> 


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